The Edmonton Oilers were wildly inconsistent at times this season. But despite all the turmoil, they find themselves in second place in the Pacific Division. The Oilers can thank their lucky stars that their division is not as strong as some of the others in the league, or they might find themselves in a much closer battle for a playoff berth. Nonetheless, the team is proving they are a resilient bunch and showing the reasons why they are good enough to be successful once the postseason begins.
Oilers Improved Team Defense
In the last season’s playoffs, the team suffered some tough losses, but goaltending was not the main issue. The Oilers gave up 14 goals amidst a four-game sweep at the hands of the Winnipeg Jets. Granted, three of their four games went into overtime, but the concern moving forward was doing a better job preventing goals against. This season, general manager Ken Holland made it a focal point to address the defense corps and made big changes to the team’s blue line. The emergence of Evan Bouchard, the free-agent signing of Cody Ceci, and trades for Brett Kulak and Duncan Keith helped bolster the overall team defense. This season, the team’s six starting defensemen bring a total of 245 games of playoff experience.
Cody Ceci, Edmonton Oilers (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers) 
Brett Kulak, Edmonton Oilers (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)
Bouchard is the only one of the current blueliners with no playoff games under his belt but is compensated by Keith’s 135 games. Having gone through the highs and lows of the playoff grind is key to finding success in the postseason, and having players who have experienced it will surely bring a sense of poise and stability to the backend.
The personnel on the blue line is not the only reason for the team’s improved play in their own end, and credit needs to go to interim head coach Jay Woodcroft and his coaching staff. Since taking over behind the bench, the Oilers have seen drastic improvements in their defensive play. Prioritizing strong defensive play in terms of his system and accountability of forwards to help the defense is not only limiting opponents’ goal scoring but helping restrict the workload of the Oilers’ goaltending, which often gets criticized.
Oilers’ Forward Depth at Its Peak
The lack of secondary scoring is also another reason the Oilers were flawed in the past. They never had the luxury of being able to rely on other players in the bottom-six of their lineup to help provide goal support to the team’s top players. But the additions of Zach Hyman, Warren Foegele, and the notable midseason addition of Evander Kane are some of the main players that contributed to the improved balanced scoring.
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Hyman is third in team scoring, with a career-high of 24 goals and 48 points through 67 games this season. Kane is also scoring at a torrid pace and finally providing Connor McDavid with a legitimate winger to play alongside him. The controversial experiment of adding a player like Kane is seemingly paying great dividends, as he is rewarding the team with 16 goals and 29 points through 34 games played. The fact that he’s on the verge of hitting the 20 goal mark in under half of the number of games in a normal 82 game season proves how important the extent of his contributions is.
Overall, between new the additions’ contributions and players continuing to develop and improve their game, the team is seeing an uptick in the overall point totals from last season. With 2020-21 being somewhat of an anomaly and hard to use as a measuring stick considering the 56-game season, the team only had 11 players score 20 or more points in the 2019-20 season. They improved that number this season, with 12 players currently sitting at 20 points or more and four others with 16 or more points heading into the final few weeks of games. The disparity between goal scorers’ point totals on the team is also closer this season, which helps create a dynamic of deploying four strong lines that can provide goal support in a playoff series.
Edge in Experience and Star Power
Although the playoff matchups are still not confirmed, it’s likely that the first round will see the Oilers meet the Los Angeles Kings, with the Oilers owning home-ice advantage. With that in mind, the Oilers should have the upper hand in both talent and experience if they do face off against the Kings.
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McDavid and Leon Draisaitl both eclipsed the 100 point mark in only 72 games played, combining for a total of 209 points with 10 games still remaining this season. The Kings, on the other hand, do not have the luxury of that much talent in their forward group. Their scoring leader, Anze Kopitar, is up to 61 points this season in 73 games played, while Adrian Kempe has posted 47 points through 70 games. That is a significant drop-off in terms of top-end talent and creates a large mismatch in terms of offensive firepower.
Not only is the scoring capacity limited on the Kings compared to the Oilers, but they are much more inexperienced. There are a total of 13 players on the Kings’ current roster that have yet to play a single NHL playoff game in their career, compared to one player in the same situation for Edmonton (Bouchard). The Kings are still a young and upcoming team and are very green in terms of NHL playoff experience. Most of the Oilers roster went through the heartache of being bounced in a playoff series and will want to avoid going through the same situation again this year.
Oilers Can Advance Past First Round of Playoffs
The Oilers are much improved despite all the inconsistencies earlier in the season. With improved defensive play, a deeper and more balanced offense, and playoff experience, they have the capacity to make it past the first round of the playoffs. With arguably the two best players in the league on their roster, anything is possible if McDavid and Draisaitl can play at their best and take over a game and series.
As long as the Oilers can punch their ticket to the playoffs, they have the ability to be a tough out for any team they may encounter. After watching the Montreal Canadiens make it to the Stanley Cup Final last season despite them being significant underdogs, there is no reason that the Oilers can’t find themselves in a similar situation in 2021-22.