This is the Edmonton Oilers squad that we had anticipated seeing this season. The Oilers enter tonight’s home game against the Minnesota Wild on a 5-game winning streak, despite the fact that they are still below the.500 mark. This season, the Oilers have fared better at home (6-4-1), while the Wild have had less success away from Minnesota (4-7-2).
To put it simply, what makes the Oilers so difficult to counter is their offensive potency. Edmonton’s 3.43 goals per game this season ranks ninth overall, but it has recently made a mockery of those figures. The Oilers have only allowed less than five goals in a game throughout their current five-game winning streak (3), average almost 5.5 goals per contest.
Much of that may be attributed to their fifth-ranked powerplay, which has a success rate of 26.3%. At just 71.8%, the Wild have the second-worst penalty kill success rate, and that may be where the game is finally decided. It is unlikely that Marc-Andre Fleury, with his 3.21 GAA and.884 save percentage, will be able to compete with players like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and company.
