It may not have been the start of the season the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/01/01/oilers-top-10-plays-from-december-draisaitls-dominance-hymans-heater-and-clutch-goals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oilers</a> wanted this year, but their game has come around in a big way.

They posted a 9-3-1 record and .731 points percentage in December, tied for the third-best in the league, and if you tack on another three games going back to November 23rd, it&#8217;s a 12-3-1 record and .781 bested only by the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/vegas-golden-knights/line-combinations">Vegas Golden Knights</a>.
Edmonton&#8217;s found themselves third in the Pacific Division with 47 points, and find themselves on the cusp of Stanley Cup contention, even if the team has seen a slight step back from where they were last year, Daily Faceoff&#8217;s Scott Maxwell <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/which-nhl-teams-look-like-2025-stanley-cup-contenders-right-now">opined Thursday</a>.
<blockquote>
The Oilers made last year’s edition of the list both times, and it very nearly paid off with their run to the Stanley Cup Final. The fact that they were one of the best teams in the league at both ends of the ice, along with boasting the talents of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, meant it was no surprise that Edmonton fell just one win short of a championship.
However, the Oilers have seen a slight step back from last year. They’re about the same standing in the league in terms of their 5v5 xGA/60 (tied for eighth last year vs. tied for ninth this year), but they’ve generated chances at a much lower rate (first last year vs. seventh this year). A big reason for that was the changes they made in the offseason, which sacrificed a lot of their foot speed and made them an older team as a result. That puts a lot of their offensive creation on the hands of their stars, and while they’re more than capable of it, they’ll need some help if they want to be a Cup contender.
</blockquote>
The Oilers are one of four teams in Maxwell&#8217;s eyes who are on the cusp this season, with the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/carolina-hurricanes/line-combinations">Carolina Hurricanes</a> and <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/new-jersey-devils/line-combinations">New Jersey Devils</a> two teams out east, and the Los Angeles Kings being another team in the west.
It may come as a bit of a surprise to some, but Kings head coach Jim Hiller has them playing some solid hockey right now. They sit just ahead of the Oilers in the standings with a 22-10-5 record for 49 points, and Maxwell sees some changes that have improved their chances this season, even if there&#8217;s still some cause for concern.
<blockquote>With a new head coach and a few changes to the roster, the Kings are back to being a strong play-driving team, and are currently the best team at preventing chances. But, those offensive concerns still remain, especially when their current 2.78 GF/60 minutes is a slight overperformance of the chances they’re actually creating. Considering that they’ve also seen slow starts from some of their players that they expect production from, particularly Kevin Fiala and Quinton Byfield, it’s easy to see how this is setting the stage for another playoff disappointment.
The last time the Kings won the Cup, they were lacking that scoring touch and made a move to land Marian Gaborik, so perhaps they need to do something like that to help their chances.
</blockquote>
The Kings move last year to acquire Vladislav Gavrikov and Joonas Korpisalo from the Blue Jackets at the deadline last year wasn&#8217;t enough, even though they scored well at 5v5 against the Oilers in the first round of the playoffs. Given who they&#8217;d have to get through in the West — the Oilers, Golden Knights, Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild — they&#8217;re going to need any boost they can get.
<hr />
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, and senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QX_QCiZyIo&amp;list=PLRSWOpthKmdtmFOKQDd7TQdTU2KSKXYvX">DFO DFS Report</a>. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at <a href="http://www.x.com/zjlaing">@zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
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It may not have been the start of the season the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/01/01/oilers-top-10-plays-from-december-draisaitls-dominance-hymans-heater-and-clutch-goals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oilers</a> wanted this year, but their game has come around in a big way.



They posted a 9-3-1 record and .731 points percentage in December, tied for the third-best in the league, and if you tack on another three games going back to November 23rd, it's a 12-3-1 record and .781 bested only by the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/vegas-golden-knights/line-combinations">Vegas Golden Knights</a>.

Edmonton's found themselves third in the Pacific Division with 47 points, and find themselves on the cusp of Stanley Cup contention, even if the team has seen a slight step back from where they were last year, Daily Faceoff's Scott Maxwell <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/which-nhl-teams-look-like-2025-stanley-cup-contenders-right-now">opined Thursday</a>.
<blockquote>
The Oilers made last year’s edition of the list both times, and it very nearly paid off with their run to the Stanley Cup Final. The fact that they were one of the best teams in the league at both ends of the ice, along with boasting the talents of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, meant it was no surprise that Edmonton fell just one win short of a championship.
However, the Oilers have seen a slight step back from last year. They’re about the same standing in the league in terms of their 5v5 xGA/60 (tied for eighth last year vs. tied for ninth this year), but they’ve generated chances at a much lower rate (first last year vs. seventh this year). A big reason for that was the changes they made in the offseason, which sacrificed a lot of their foot speed and made them an older team as a result. That puts a lot of their offensive creation on the hands of their stars, and while they’re more than capable of it, they’ll need some help if they want to be a Cup contender.
</blockquote>
The Oilers are one of four teams in Maxwell's eyes who are on the cusp this season, with the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/carolina-hurricanes/line-combinations">Carolina Hurricanes</a> and <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/new-jersey-devils/line-combinations">New Jersey Devils</a> two teams out east, and the Los Angeles Kings being another team in the west.

It may come as a bit of a surprise to some, but Kings head coach Jim Hiller has them playing some solid hockey right now. They sit just ahead of the Oilers in the standings with a 22-10-5 record for 49 points, and Maxwell sees some changes that have improved their chances this season, even if there's still some cause for concern.
<blockquote>With a new head coach and a few changes to the roster, the Kings are back to being a strong play-driving team, and are currently the best team at preventing chances. But, those offensive concerns still remain, especially when their current 2.78 GF/60 minutes is a slight overperformance of the chances they’re actually creating. Considering that they’ve also seen slow starts from some of their players that they expect production from, particularly Kevin Fiala and Quinton Byfield, it’s easy to see how this is setting the stage for another playoff disappointment.
The last time the Kings won the Cup, they were lacking that scoring touch and made a move to land Marian Gaborik, so perhaps they need to do something like that to help their chances.
</blockquote>
The Kings move last year to acquire Vladislav Gavrikov and Joonas Korpisalo from the Blue Jackets at the deadline last year wasn't enough, even though they scored well at 5v5 against the Oilers in the first round of the playoffs. Given who they'd have to get through in the West — the Oilers, Golden Knights, Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild — they're going to need any boost they can get.

<hr />

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, and senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QX_QCiZyIo&amp;list=PLRSWOpthKmdtmFOKQDd7TQdTU2KSKXYvX">DFO DFS Report</a>. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at <a href="http://www.x.com/zjlaing">@zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.

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