If you haven’t been following the Oilers this season then the fact that they\u2019re listed as<\/p>\n\n\n\n
one of the favorites to win it all might not come as a surprise. They have two of the top<\/p>\n\n\n\n
players across the board in Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, making them a<\/p>\n\n\n\n
perennial favorite to hoist hockey’s holy grail. But when you take a closer look, the fact<\/p>\n\n\n\n
that they’re even in the top ten is incredible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From Rags to Riches<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The club got off to a horrendous start with just two wins through their first twelve games<\/p>\n\n\n\n and depending on the book, you could get the Oilers at +2000 by November. McDavid<\/p>\n\n\n\n was dealing with an injury early on and all hope seemed to be lost on the season. But<\/p>\n\n\n\n the boys from oil town have flipped the script on the league. December 21st, 2023 they<\/p>\n\n\n\n won in New Jersey and didn\u2019t stop winning until February 6th in Vegas. That’s a<\/p>\n\n\n\n 16-game win streak, the longest for a Canadian team in league history and they were<\/p>\n\n\n\n one victory from tying the overall record at 17. They started this streak with a 13-15-1<\/p>\n\n\n\n record, were 27th in the league and were 5 spots back of the final Wild Card spot in the<\/p>\n\n\n\n West. Cut to now and they are 41-21-4, sit 9th in the league and are second in the<\/p>\n\n\n\n division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Firepower<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s no surprise that the Oilers are top heavy, it\u2019s something that they\u2019ve been known for<\/p>\n\n\n\n over the past decade. McDavid leads the team with 108 points, good for third in the<\/p>\n\n\n\n league and Zach Hyman—yes, Zach Hyman\u2014leads the squad with 46 goals. Draisaitl<\/p>\n\n\n\n is tops on the team with 17 power play goals and has 34 tucks overall on the year. They<\/p>\n\n\n\n recently signed Corey Perry who could provide the dirt and grit that their bottom-six was<\/p>\n\n\n\n desperately lacking. They also went out and added centers Adam Henrique and Sam<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carrick for depth down the middle. On the backend, they grabbed right-handed blueliner<\/p>\n\n\n\n Troy Stecher from Arizona. Speaking of the backend, Evan Bouchard has taken to the<\/p>\n\n\n\n role of power play quarterback like a duck to water. Bouchard is tied for third in terms of<\/p>\n\n\n\n power play points by a defenceman and has 15 goals and 50 points in just 65 games<\/p>\n\n\n\n this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Strength in Skinner<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The weak spot during McDavid\u2019s tenure with the team has been the goaltending. He\u2019s<\/p>\n\n\n\n seen 15 different goalies take the crease during his time with the Oilers. Edmonton<\/p>\n\n\n\n thought they had something when they signed Jack Campbell to a 5 million dollar per<\/p>\n\n\n\n year deal but the starter faltered early on. After the team sent Campbell down to their<\/p>\n\n\n\n AHL squad, Stuart Skinner took the ball and has really stepped up. Skinner has 30 wins<\/p>\n\n\n\n and has only given up more than 2 goals just once over his past 8 appearances. While<\/p>\n\n\n\n he isn’t in a Vezina tier, he’s playing like a netminder that will definitely have people<\/p>\n\n\n\n talking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Edmonton Oilers +750<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While there is still plenty of hockey left to go, the Oilers are on track to finally live up to<\/p>\n\n\n\n expectations. While it won\u2019t be anywhere close to McDavid\u2019s best year statistically,<\/p>\n\n\n\n that\u2019s not what it\u2019s about. Yes, they have the star power but now they\u2019re getting the<\/p>\n\n\n\n goaltending and taking the pressure off their top guns with a little ancillary scoring. The<\/p>\n\n\n\n top guns will have more left in the tank come the postseason instead of being burnt out<\/p>\n\n\n\n and blown up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n