![]() The Oilers cleared out the contracts of Barrie and Jesse Puljujarvi while adding exactly what they needed in Mattias Ekholm and Nick Bjugstad. General manager Ken Holland helped out his team in the best way possible this season as the trade deadline additions have been a big reason for the recent success. Skinner set the Oilers’ record with 10 wins in the month of March, and coming into the season with 13 starts in the NHL to his name, he has been a game-changer. ![]() 911 SV% is very respectable and has done the trick this season. ![]() For a team that focuses on offence as much as the Oilers do, Skinner’s. Skinner, who is a rookie, became an All-Star and has now started 11 more games than Campbell this season. Luckily for them, Skinner assumed the role early in the season and held onto it. 886 save percentage (SV%), starting more games would have sunk the Oilers by now. While Jack Campbell was the presumed starter for the Oilers this season, he had a horrible start to the season that hasn’t gotten any better throughout. The Oilers would have been in a similar position to where the Buffalo Sabres are right now if it weren’t for the stellar goaltending of unlikely hero Stuart Skinner. The top unit is so good that even after replacing Tyson Barrie with Evan Bouchard, it hasn’t missed a step. The Oilers’ power play wouldn’t run as efficiently if either of them weren’t on it. They may not be talked about as much, but both players know exactly where to be on the ice. Sitting third in the NHL this season in power play points is Nugent-Hopkins with 50 while he and Hyman have combined for 29 power play goals. He also happens to currently sit 16th all-time for power-play points in a season (58) on top of his crazy goal-scoring. He just reached 30 power-play goals and is now four off the all-time record held by Tim Kerr. Now, as McDavid has 21 goals and 68 points on the power play, Draisaitl has also had an incredible season on the man advantage as well. Related: Longtime Oilers Fans Rewarded With Historic SeasonĬonnor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers ( Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers) As for Kane, he now has 50 goals and 83 points in 94 games in an Oilers uniform. Hyman is at 34 goals and 80 points this season, blowing by the career highs in goals and points set in his first season with the Oilers. Nugent-Hopkins’ career high in points was 69 before this season and he is at 97 points, tied for sixth in the league. Nugent-Hopkins, Hyman, and Kane aren’t as skilled as McDavid and Draisaitl and are seen as a tier below them, but they have all been great this season, on the power play, shorthanded, and at even strength. It appears as though he is looking the best he has in his career over the past couple of weeks, but with 120 points as well as 50 goals, he has driven play for the Oilers. Though the spotlight has been on McDavid for most of the year, Draisaitl just hit 50 goals and is the third player to do so this season. Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images) If Evander Kane, the fifth forward in this group, hadn’t suffered a freak injury that kept him out for half of the season, then he would be right with the four leading scorers and having a career year as well. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Zach Hyman have all blown by their career-best marks and the season isn’t even over yet. We couldn’t start without mentioning the career years of the Oilers’ top four forwards and bringing attention to their elite five. As they’re already in playoff mode and are dominating every night, let’s look at the five key things that helped them qualify for their fourth consecutive postseason. They have been the best team over the second half of the season and have shown no signs of slowing down. They currently sit in second in the Pacific Division and Western Conference with 99 points. The Edmonton Oilers officially punched their ticket to the 2023 Playoffs after defeating the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday (April 1).
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