{"id":931406,"date":"2026-10-13T11:30:43","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T11:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/931406\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T11:30:43","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T11:30:43","slug":"three-clear-reasons-the-oilers-are-off-to-a-strong-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/931406\/","title":{"rendered":"Three clear reasons the Oilers are off to a strong start"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Edmonton Oilers<\/a> are the only team remaining in the NHL without a regulation loss,<\/a> with a 4-0-1 record through the first 13 days of the season. Edmonton wanted and needed a good start, and they got one.<\/p>\n

Last year the Oilers were 2-2-1 after five games and ended up being 4-5-1 through 10 games. Many different reasons have been suggested as to why the Oilers are off to a good start this year, and while some are partially true, none are the main reason they\u2019ve yet to lose in regulation.<\/p>\n

Some have mentioned Mike Babcock<\/a>, the depth scoring or Devon Levi. Those have played a role, however, for me it is clear what the difference is: the three Oilers superstars.<\/p>\n

Last year, through five games, Connor McDavid had seven points, all assists, Leon Draisaitl had three goals and four points, and Evan Bouchard had no points. Those three combined for three goals, 11 assists and 14 points.<\/p>\n

This year, McDavid has three goals and 13 points, Draisaitl has three goals and nine points, and Bouchard has six goals and 12 points. The star-studded trio has a combined 12 goals, 22 assists and 34 points.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve combined for nine more goals, 11 more assists and 20 more points. But it isn\u2019t just their offence. They have been excellent defensively, and their GF-GA at five-on-five is outstanding, with Bouchard at 13-1, McDavid 11-1 and Draisaitl 9-1. When your top players are dominant, it is easier for everyone else to fill a role.<\/p>\n

The Oilers had 13 goals for and 13 goals against through five games last season. This year they have 25 goals for and 17 goals against. They allowed 13 goals in the first two games and only four in the past three. Their defensive play has helped them, and their depth forwards have chipped in, but they had depth players score an equal number of goals last year.<\/p>\n

\"\"Last season Andrew Mangiapane<\/a> (two), Trent Frederic, Adam Henrique, Curtis Lazar, and Noah Philp<\/a> combined for six goals in the first five games. This season, Kasperi Kapanen (two), Owen Michaels (two), Frederic and Alex Formenton have produced six goals. Vasily Podkolzin has five goals, which is slightly higher than the four Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had last season. Ryan Shea and Mattias Ekholm each have a goal this year, which is two more than the D-men had last season.<\/p>\n

The main increase in offence has come off the sticks of McDavid, Bouchard and Draisaitl. These there have produced huge offensive numbers before, so I understand why some might watch their start and just think it was normal that the superstars are leading offensively, but that wasn\u2019t the case last year. Not even remotely close to their production this season.<\/p>\n

When your big guns are firing, any team\u2019s chance of success increases. And not only are they lighting it up offensively, but they have been very sound defensively. Last season the Oilers<\/a> started well defensively at five-on-five allowing only six goals in five goals, but they only scored six goals. Bouchard has six goals himself at five-on-five this season.<\/p>\n

Edmonton has allowed 10 goals at five-on-five through five games, but nine of them came in their first two games. They have clearly tightened up defensively, which is great. They have received timely depth scoring. In San Jose, Josh Samanski and Isaac Howard combined to set up Ekholm for the opening goal, while Formenton scored his first as an Oiler to make it 3-0 and put the game away. The depth players have been good, and Owen Michaels has been a pleasant surprise with how reliable he\u2019s become. He\u2019s a go-to faceoff guy, which is extremely rare for a rookie, and he looks very comfortable in his own zone. It is good to see, but for me the play of the three superstars is the main reason the Oilers are 4-0-1.<\/p>\n

ICE TIME DISTRIBUTION\u2026<\/p>\n

There was a lot of talk about giving guys more of a role, and in some ways that has occurred, but it hasn\u2019t come at the expense of ice time for the top players. In fact, Mike Babcock and DJ Smith have relied much more on the top four D-men than last year.<\/p>\n

2025\/26<\/p>\n

GP<\/p>\n

TOI<\/p>\n

2026\/27<\/p>\n

GP<\/p>\n

TOI<\/p>\n

Evan Bouchard<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

126:22<\/p>\n

Evan Bouchard<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

124:19<\/p>\n

Mattias Ekholm<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

105:10<\/p>\n

Ryan Shea<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

115:48<\/p>\n

Darnell Nurse<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

104:22<\/p>\n

Mattias Ekholm<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

109:01<\/p>\n

Brett Kulak<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

95:36<\/p>\n

Connor Murphy<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

106:22<\/p>\n

Ty Emberson<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

74:37<\/p>\n

Jake Walman<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

59:09<\/p>\n

Troy Stecher<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

46:16<\/p>\n

Shakir Mukhamadullin<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

34:22<\/p>\n

Alec Regula<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

31:46<\/p>\n

Ty Emberson<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

33:42<\/p>\n

The top four have combined to play 455:29 compared to last year when they logged 431:30. They are on the ice for 4:48 more per game this year. The third pair have been on the ice for just over five minutes less per game. The top four are all averaging over 21 minutes per game, while Jake Walman has averaged 14:47 and Shakir Mukhamadullin and Ty Emberson are each at 11:37 and 11:27, respectively.<\/p>\n

Up front, McDavid has played the exact same minutes under Babcock as he did Knoblauch, but McDavid has played more on the penalty kill to start this season, averaging 2:09 to 1:34 last year.<\/p>\n

2025\/26<\/p>\n

GP<\/p>\n

TOI<\/p>\n

TOI\/GP<\/p>\n

2026\/27<\/p>\n

GP<\/p>\n

TOI<\/p>\n

TOI\/GP<\/p>\n

Connor McDavid<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

119:10<\/p>\n

23:50<\/p>\n

Connor McDavid<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

119:46<\/p>\n

23:57<\/p>\n

Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

116:49<\/p>\n

23:22<\/p>\n

Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

106:49<\/p>\n

21:22<\/p>\n

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

95:49<\/p>\n

19:10<\/p>\n

Zach Hyman<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

20:33<\/p>\n

20:33<\/p>\n

Andrew Mangiapane<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

73:46<\/p>\n

14:45<\/p>\n

Vasily Podkolzin<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

95:46<\/p>\n

19:09<\/p>\n

Kasperi Kapanen<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

68:00<\/p>\n

13:36<\/p>\n

Kasperi Kapanen<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

88:22<\/p>\n

17:41<\/p>\n

Trent Frederic<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

67:46<\/p>\n

13:33<\/p>\n

Alex Formenton<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

74:46<\/p>\n

14:57<\/p>\n

Jack Roslovic<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

39:22<\/p>\n

13:07<\/p>\n

Mathieu Joseph<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

74:33<\/p>\n

14:55<\/p>\n

David Tomasek<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

65:22<\/p>\n

13:05<\/p>\n

Filip Hallander<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

14:10<\/p>\n

14:11<\/p>\n

Vasily Podkolzin<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

64:16<\/p>\n

12:51<\/p>\n

Colton Dach<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

40:07<\/p>\n

13:23<\/p>\n

Matt Savoie<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

64:16<\/p>\n

12:51<\/p>\n

Owen Michaels<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

63:39<\/p>\n

12:44<\/p>\n

Adam Henrique<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

62:10<\/p>\n

12:26<\/p>\n

Jason Dickinson<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

23:16<\/p>\n

11:38<\/p>\n

Noah Philp<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

21:46<\/p>\n

10:53<\/p>\n

Max Jones<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

41:01<\/p>\n

10:16<\/p>\n

Curtis Lazar<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

10:21<\/p>\n

10:21<\/p>\n

Trent Frederic<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

49:57<\/p>\n

9:59<\/p>\n

Isaac Howard<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

36:49<\/p>\n

9:12<\/p>\n

Isaac Howard<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

49:30<\/p>\n

9:54<\/p>\n

Josh Samanski<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

31:07<\/p>\n

7:47<\/p>\n

With RNH out, Podkolzin has taken his minutes almost to the exact second. The middle lines are playing a bit more, while the fourth line is playing much less. Adam Henrique played 12:26 last year, while Josh Samanski is playing under eight minutes\/game. Trent Frederic is playing just under 10 minutes a night, a drop of 3:33\/game from last year, but he looks much more engaged. The theory was Kris Knoblauch didn\u2019t give him an opportunity. I\u2019d argue his lack of foot speed, due to being able to train in the off-season, had a much larger impact.<\/p>\n

McDavid has played the exact same minutes to start the season this year as last, but he\u2019s produced almost twice as many points. Playing with Leon Draisaitl almost exclusively is part of the reason, but he also looks refreshed, not to mention Bouchard has been unreal on the backend. But the depth forwards haven\u2019t had a massive increase in minutes, but they are performing better. I wrote before the season that the depth forwards needed to do more with their minutes<\/a>, and so far, they have. Good on them.<\/p>\n

There are many reasons to be optimistic about how the Oilers are playing, but the elite play of superstars is at the top of my list. It allows everyone below to look better and have less pressure to produce. Just play sound defensively, and in the last three games, the team has shown they are capable of doing that, and they are being led by McDavid, Bouchard and Draisaitl in all three zones on the ice.<\/p>\n

PRESENTED BY CAPITAL GMC BUICK\"\"Hockey fans recognize elite performance instantly, and that\u2019s exactly how Capital GMC Buick<\/a> operates. With one of the city\u2019s deepest selections of top-quality GMC and Buick vehicles and a customer experience built to win year after year, this dealership consistently leads the pack. Five current NHL players proudly drive vehicles from Capital GMC Buick, and for good reason. The store has been rated the #1 GM dealership in Canada by DealerRater for three consecutive years, is the only GM dealer in Edmonton endorsed by J.D. Power as a Dealer of Excellence, and has raised over $30,000 for the Stollery Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Edmonton Oilers are the only team remaining in the NHL without a regulation loss, with a 4-0-1…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":931407,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194294],"tags":[49,48,23752],"class_list":["post-931406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-edmonton","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-edmonton"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=931406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/931407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=931406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=931406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=931406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}