G27 Game Notes: Extend the Streak
By Jason Gregor
7 months agoIn their first 3,990 regular season games the Edmonton Oilers won nine games in a row once, yet with a victory tonight the Oilers would win nine consecutive games for the second time in their last 36 games.
It’s crazy.
— Edmonton won its final nine games last season and is riding an eight-game winning streak entering its 27th game of this season tonight. The fact the Oilers are on the brink of picking up a second nine-game winning streak in 36 regular season games after having only one in their first 3,990 is stunning. But the Oilers earned full marks for both winning streaks, and the weird thing is that during the 18 games in between these two streaks they went 5-12-1.
— This is the eighth time in franchise history the Oilers have won eight games in a row. They went 2-5 while attempting to win nine in row. Their second and third eight-game winning streaks occurred during a 30-game stretch in 1984. They went 8-0, then 6-7-1 followed by another 8-0 stretch. Here are their results when trying to win their ninth in a row.
Lost 5-3 in Chicago on November 13th, 1983.
Lost 3-1 in Buffalo on January 13th, 1984.
Lost 5-3 at home to Philadelphia on February 29th, 1984.
Lost 3-2 in Vancouver on December 8th, 1984.
Lost 6-2 in Winnipeg on February 6th, 1985.
Won 5-4 in overtime in Tampa Bay on March 13th, 2001. They led 3-0 in the first period. Were tied 3-3 after the second. Led 4-3 early in the third, Tampa tied it again, before Eric Brewer scored the OT winner 1:17 into OT.
Won 5-2 at home v. SJ on April 13th, 2023.
Lost 3-1 in Buffalo on January 13th, 1984.
Lost 5-3 at home to Philadelphia on February 29th, 1984.
Lost 3-2 in Vancouver on December 8th, 1984.
Lost 6-2 in Winnipeg on February 6th, 1985.
Won 5-4 in overtime in Tampa Bay on March 13th, 2001. They led 3-0 in the first period. Were tied 3-3 after the second. Led 4-3 early in the third, Tampa tied it again, before Eric Brewer scored the OT winner 1:17 into OT.
Won 5-2 at home v. SJ on April 13th, 2023.
After starting out 0-5 when trying to win their ninth in a row, now the franchise has won its last two. Will they make it three tonight?
— The Oilers are dominating teams during this current streak. They’ve outscored their opponents 38-13 (+25), which is very similar to their previous streaks. Last year they were 39-14 (+25) in nine games. In 2001 they outscored opponents 35-13 (+22) in nine games and posted three shutouts. In the eight-game streaks in 1984 and 1985 they outscored teams 55-27 (+28), 50-28 (+22), 53-27 (+26), 48-23 (+25) and 44-26 +18).
— Nikita Kucherov leads the NHL in scoring with 19 goals and 47 points in 29 games. Connor McDavid has moved up to seventh with 10 goals and 38 points in 24 games. Tonight’s game will have the last seven Art Ross Trophy winners on the ice. Since 2017 only McDavid, Kucherov and Leon Draisaitl have won the scoring race. Not surprisingly they rank first-third in points/game over the past seven seasons and the start of this year. McDavid has averaged 1.53 pts/game, while Kucherov is at 1.36 and Draisaitl at 1.29.
— McDavid has 840 points, Draisaitl 717 followed by Nathan MacKinnon 647 and Kucherov has 627. MacKinnon has played 58 more games as Kucherov missed the 56-game 2021 season with an injury.
— This is the fourth time in NHL history only three players have won the Art Ross over a seven-year span. From 1951-1957, Gordie Howe (5x), Jean Beliveau (1x) and Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion (1x). Over a 10-year span from 1969-1978 Phil Esposito (5x), Guy Lafleur (3x) and Bobby Orr (2x) were the only ones to win. Esposito and Orr were teammates and won it the first seven years before Lafleur won the last three. And during an amazing 21-year span from 1981-2001 only Wayne Gretzky (10x), Mario Lemieux (6x) and Jaromir Jagr (5x) won the Art Ross.
— There is a very good chance the current streak extends to eight years with Kucherov leading the scoring race by five points, and McDavid surging up the leader board. McDavid has 22 points during the Oilers’ eight-game heater. Barring an injury, would anyone be surprised if McDavid won the scoring race this year and over the next three seasons?
— A good question would be: Outside of McDavid, Kucherov and Draisaitl, which player do you think will be the next to win an Art Ross trophy? And in what season?
— Edmonton is 5-9 v. Tampa Bay in the McDavid-Draisaitl era, but they’ve improved going 3-1 in their last four. McDavid has 10 goals and 16 points in 11 games v. the Bolts, while Draisaitl has 8-9-17 in 14 games. Kucherov loves playing the Oilers and has 11-13-24 in 12 games and averages two points/game. He had 2-1-3 in their 6-4 win over the Oilers earlier this season. Edmonton led 2-0, 3-2 and 4-3 in that game, before the Lightning scored three goals in the final 10:32 to secure the victory.
— Evander Kane is banged up. He didn’t practice yesterday after not taking the morning skate on Tuesday but played against Chicago. I haven’t been able to pinpoint the injury, but he doesn’t seem as explosive as he was earlier in the season. He is still playing physical, however, as he leads the Oilers with 33 hits during the win streak. Mattias Ekholm is second with 15 followed by Mattias Janmark and McDavid with 14.
— While Kane didn’t practice yesterday, Kris Knoblauch had Janmark and Warren Foegele skating with Draisaitl. He switched Draisaitl and McLeod midway through last game, and we could see that remain tonight. The top line is rolling so you can’t change them during this heater, and the fourth line is also playing well, but the Kane-Draisaitl-Brown line hasn’t done much. Knoblauch gave them a long look and opted for a change. I don’t think we will see Kane on the third line long, and maybe not even to start the game tonight. But playing Foegele with Draisaitl makes more sense than Brown right now. Brown has very little offensive confidence. He hasn’t scored a goal in his last 38 games dating back to March 24th, 2022 when he was in Ottawa. He only played four games with Washington last season and didn’t score and he’s goalless in 20 games with Edmonton. He could really use a goal before Christmas.
MONTH OF GIVING…
Grant had an amazing bid of $14,000 on our What the Future’s Podcast farm package yesterday. Amazing.
DAY TEN: 🎁 Package #1: Dinner for Six at Chop Steakhouse Ellerslie or Downtown
You and five of your guests will dine with Kevin Karius, Eddie Steele, David Schlemko and Ladislav Smid from the Sports 1440 Morning Show.
- It will be a five-course dinner with wine pairings and your choice of beverages in their private room.
- The date will occur in the first six months of 2024.
🎁 Package #2: A hand crafted Table Top and Two Chairs for the diehard Oilers fan and pair of tickets to tonight’s game.
- The stools have Oilers logo and the tabletop has a Connor McDavid engraved picture.
- Lmb designs is a custom furniture manufacturer specializing in wine barrel furniture and home decor. All their products are created from upcycled wine Barrels that have been retired for various wineries throughout BC and northern USA. Each piece is carefully created using only the highest quality, hand selected barrel staves.
- The wine barrel lids become the seats for bar stools, Bistro tables and more. The barrel itself is taken apart, each piece is sanded smooth, and becomes the legs for chairs, stools, wine racks and other unique furniture and decor. They strive for zero waste and have a use for each piece of recycled oak Barrel wood.
- Club seats in section 101, row five seats 1 and 2 (aisle seats).
You can bid via text between 2-6 p.m. on Sports 1440 by texting 833.401.1440 (can call same number) and include your name and donation amount. Money raised from both packages will support Santas Anonymous.
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