As the second round of the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs gets underway, the Edmonton Oilers and the Vancouver Canucks are set to renew their rivalry. This rivalry is no ‘Battle of Alberta,’ but has been strong since the Oilers joined the NHL in the early 1980s. Recall late 90s battles with the Canucks and Oilers fighting for playoffs spots. However, the two teams haven’t met in a playoff series since 1992, but look for this one renew the passion. This is a different time with the Oilers led by two of the best offensive players in the game in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Meanwhile, the Canucks topped the Oilers by five points in the regular season standings. What we are here to explore is can the Oilers offence carry them through the series? Or will the Rick Tocchet defensive strategy hold its ground.
The Edmonton Oilers Next Game Is Round Two vs the Canucks
The first item to cover, and one of the hotter news topic for this series, is on the Canucks goaltending situation. Ordinarily, the Canucks crease should not be an issue, as Thatcher Demko is a finalist for the 2023-24 Vezina Trophy. However, his status remains a question, and with murmurs of him being out week-to-week, that news is never reassuring. Besides Demko, the next two names on their depth chart are Casey DeSmith and Arturs Silovs. Silovs seems to have stolen the job from DeSmith, and played well to eliminate the Nashville Predators in the previous series. Despite his inexperience, Silovs appears to be peaking at the right time. Going back to late March in the regular season, he has gone 5-1-1 with one shutout. Will he be able to maintain his poise or will he fold under the hot lights of the Oil superstar attack?
The McDavid Led Attack
An offensive attack led by the best player in the game, Connor McDavid. Just looking back at the past three seasons, McDavid has 408 points in 238 regular season games. This includes a Rocket Richard Trophy, an individual’s fourth highest single season point total, and one of five players to record 100 assists in a season. Literally Hall-of-Fame worthy in its own right. And he doesn’t slow down in the post-season. He has 65 points in 33 games over the previous three seasons, including this one. Currently, he leads the playoffs in assists (11) and points (12). Even if you somehow contain McDavid, there’s lots of other high-end threats on the Oilers.
The next biggest threat on the Oilers is Leon Draisaitl. In terms of regular season scoring, Draisaitl has recorded 100 points in five of the last six campaigns. In fact, the year he missed was the COVID season, and he had 84 points in 56 games, or a pace of 123 over 82. In last year’s playoffs, he had 13 goals in 12 games. Furthermore, in 2021-22, he led the playoffs with 25 assists, through only 16 games played. And he’s at it again this post-season with five goals and five assists through five games. It looks the Oilers top dogs are firing, but will that be enough or will their supporting cast carry the load.
Who Else Could Chip-in Next Game or Throughout the Series for the Edmonton Oilers?
The names that lead the supporting cast are Evander Kane, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, and Evan Bouchard. Kane has never had huge offensive outputs, but does have 326 career NHL goals. Also, he had a Gordie Howe hat trick in the 6-1 game three victory against the Los Angeles Kings. In other words, Kane is an excellent playoff performer who loves the physicality and speed of the game this time of year. In addition, Nugent-Hopkins is a 100-point man from 2022-23. Zach Hyman had an incredible 54 goals this year, and doesn’t slow down in the spring. He added seven more against the Kings in round one. Finally, the Oilers have one of the premier offensive defenceman in Evan Bouchard. His right-shot on the top power play gives teams fits. Which leads to the next piece of the Oilers potent attack, the power play.
The Power Play, Yeah, the Power Play
In 2023-24, the Oilers were 26.3% on the power play. They’ve stepped it up in the post-season, humming along at 45.0%. Even though Vancouver brings a more dynamic penalty kill than the Kings, the Oilers are difficult to stop. It just seems the Oilers power play has too many dimensions. If Vancouver gets into any penalty trouble, look for this to shift the series in the Oilers favour.
Prepare for the Edmonton Oilers Next Game, Throw Out the Regular Season
It does sound like the Oilers will be tough to stop, even though the season series painted a different scene. The Canucks went 4-0, outscoring the Oilers 21-7. Conversely, three of those four games were the former Head Coach Jay Woodcroft version. This included the opening night 8-1 drubbing. So it is safe to say, nobody wants to hear about the regular season. And the Oilers have figured it out since then. Heck, even McDavid wasn’t himself early on. There was a 13-game span where McDavid only had four goals and seven assists. Talk about stat cherry-picking, but it spoke to the overall performance under Woodcroft and they lost to the Canucks once in that stretch. Therefore, the moral of the story, is ignore the regular season.
The final aspect that could impact the Edmonton Oilers offence in the next game or the series, is health. Evander Kane did miss some action down the stretch, but has shown he’s ready for the intensity of playoff hockey. Also, their defence has been healthy and incredibly consistent. Their pairings are set, and that gives them extra confidence to do more, given the extra level of comfort. One of those things they can do more, is chip in offensively, which Mattias Ekholm and Bouchard do with regularity.
The Stars Are Aligning for the Oilers Offence
When you look ahead as the Edmonton Oilers prepare for their next game, a second round playoff showdown with the Canucks, it seems their offence will power them through. Between an inexperienced goaltender and their elite scorers, it is a recipe for success. Combined with the idea that the Oilers are incredibly healthy, which gives their players confidence and comfort playing in their expected roles. Look for the Oilers offence to continue to produce and lead this squad through the post-season.
Main photo: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
