3 Keys for the Oilers to Win the Pacific Division

The Edmonton Oilers haven’t won their division since 1987. That is the longest active drought in all four North American professional sports. Despite their underwhelming regular-season play, the Oilers still make noise come playoff time. Unfortunately, last season was different as they were eliminated in the first round by the Anaheim Ducks. They should be well-rested heading into this season.

That disappointing result led to many offseason changes. They traded long-tenured defenceman Darnell Nurse and added two new faces to the defence core. They also fired head coach Kris Knoblauch and associate coach Mark Stuart. In a controversial decision, they replaced Knoblauch with Mike Babcock. They also added D.J. Smith to the coaching staff. With new perspectives behind the bench, the Oilers are looking to refine their game and play the right way.

The Oilers haven’t taken advantage of their weak division. They’ve lacked consistency and have had poor starts the past few seasons. They haven’t been ready to play, and it’s cost them. However, this season feels different with a new coach. Babcock should have this team well prepared, which will pay dividends. Edmonton needs to be much better than last season and improve in a few areas. With that said, here are three keys for the Oilers to win the Pacific Division.

Goaltending Must Be Better

This one is obvious. The Oilers need strong goaltending and will utilize a three-goalie system. General manager Stan Bowman overhauled their goaltending by acquiring Devon Levi from the Buffalo Sabres and signing Frederik Andersen in free agency. Andersen is coming off a Stanley Cup championship with the Carolina Hurricanes and had stellar numbers during the first three rounds. But he struggled in the Stanley Cup Final and eventually lost the net to Brandon Bussi. The 36-year-old netminder has had a great career, posting a .913 save percentage (SV%) in 552 games. Unfortunately, he will start the season on the injured list, so the other two netminders must carry the load.

Levi is the biggest question mark. The 24-year-old has had a solid American Hockey League (AHL) career, but that hasn’t translated to NHL success. In 39 NHL games, he has an .894 SV%. He has the potential to steal the number one job and be Edmonton’s starting goalie for years to come. The Oilers need him to be good, especially early when Andersen is out.

Finally, there’s Tristan Jarry, who struggled mightily since joining the Oilers last December. He was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins and had a putrid .858 SV% in 19 games (16 starts) since the trade. The veteran netminder has had an encouraging preseason. He stopped 15 of 16 shots against the Winnipeg Jets in the preseason opener. Then he stopped 25 of 26 shots against the Vancouver Canucks in a game where the Oilers dressed primarily AHL players, while Vancouver played mostly their NHL squad. Hopefully, he can build off this strong preseason and gain much-needed confidence. He needs a major bounce back.

The Oilers should have a vastly improved defensive structure under the new coaching regime, which should help out the goaltending. Edmonton gave up too many quality chances last season. If they cut that down, limit the chaos, and manage the puck better in the defensive zone, the goalies’ play will likely improve. Team defence is crucial to a netminder’s success.

Improved Penalty Kill

The penalty kill was not good last season. They were 20th in the league at 77.8 percent. However, until the trade deadline in March, they were 26th in the league at 76.7 percent. The Oilers bolstered the penalty kill at the deadline, acquiring Connor Murphy and Jason Dickinson to fill that role. From then until the end of the regular season, they were 81.6 percent on the kill, which was the 10th-best. Unfortunately, things unravelled in the playoffs, and their abysmal 50 percent penalty kill efficiency ultimately sent them home.

Now, the Oilers will have a full season with Murphy and Dickinson, plus Smith, who’ll oversee the penalty kill. That’s already an improvement, and there’s no way that unit will be worse than last season. If the penalty kill is in the top 10, that likely means the goaltending is also good, because those aspects are intertwined. A strong penalty kill can build momentum and provide a solid identity. They still finished second in the Pacific Division with an underwhelming penalty kill, so imagine what they can accomplish with a good one.

Depth Players Must Contribute

The Oilers can’t just rely on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to provide the offence. They need contributions from all four lines. Josh Samanski, Jason Dickinson, Mathieu Joseph, Colton Dach, and Trent Frederic are five players in particular who must step up and provide secondary scoring.

“What we’re trying to do is send the message on how we want to play. We’ve asked them to learn the details and then find your game within our game. So if you know the details and everyone’s detailed, everybody on the team can be important. When you’re not detailed enough, no one knows where to go, and only the best guys get to be important. We’re going to play without the puck, and to play here, you’ve got to be fit. We’re going to play 12 forwards, and everyone’s going to be important. So you have to have a role, and you have to understand what we expect”, Babcock stated after the first skate during training camp.

Typically, Edmonton’s bottom six doesn’t play a ton, so it’s hard to develop roles. If Babcock sticks to his word and makes everyone feel important, that could instill more confidence in the bottom six. More responsibility should hopefully lead to more contributions from the depth players. Everyone needs to buy in.

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