The battle of the Oilers and Blue Jackets’ inept special teams goes head-to-head tonight.

It is difficult to decide which unit is worse, the Edmonton Oilers’ penalty kill or the Columbus Blue Jackets’ power play.

1. The Blue Jackets’ PP is 31st at 9.41%. They have eight goals on 85 opportunities. But their issues go back much further. In their final 45 games, last season the Blue Jackets’ PP was 12 of 103 (11.6%). In their last 75 games, their PP is a dreadful 10.6% (20 of 188).

2. The Oilers’ PK is 31st at 72.2%. They have allowed 27 goals on 99 kills. Like the Blue Jackets, their issues are rooted much deeper than this season. In their final 68 last season the PK was only 78.5%. They allowed 39 goals on 182 chances. In their previous 98 games the Oilers PK is 76.5% (66 goals on 281 kills).

3. Columbus’ PP isn’t getting better. They are 2 for 28 in their last ten games. The reason their PP isn’t hurting them is because their PK is very good. They’ve only allowed two PP goals against in their last 15 games (killed off 34 of 36).

4. Compare that to the Oilers PK in their last 15 games. In 49 opportunities they allowed 13 goals. That is an ugly 73.4%. They aren’t improving. They have allowed a PP goal in 10 of their past 12 games. And unlike the Blue Jackets, their other special teams unit isn’t equaling things out. The Oilers’ power play has scored a PP goal once in their past ten games. They are 2-for-24 in those ten games and both goals came in Montreal on Saturday. It is baffling how this powerplay continues to struggle despite the offensive talent it has on the ice. With no improvement over the past ten games, it is completely fair to wonder why the coaching staff is still using the same players. I understand being loyal and trusting they will produce, but it is time to look for something different. It is only 8.3% over the past ten games, so it would be hard to be worse.

5. The Oilers have scored as many shorthanded goals, two, as powerplay goals in their past ten games.

6. Don’t expect many powerplays tonight. The Oilers have the fewest opportunities in the NHL, 80, while Columbus has the second fewest at 85. Since the beginning of last season, the Blue Jackets have had the fewest PP opportunities in the NHL with 296. Here are the other nine to round out the top-ten least PP chances since the start of the 2016/2017 season.
Minnesota is 2nd at 309
Edmonton has 325
Carolina has 326
Buffalo had 329
Montreal and Boston have 330
Toronto and NYR have 333
Vancouver has 334

I’ve heard many state the Oilers don’t draw penalties because they aren’t fast, but are these other teams slow? I still don’t buy speed is the issue. Everyone is constantly talking how fast the New Jersey Devils are this season, but they only have 91 powerplay chances, which puts them 26th. I’m watching to see what other factors are in play, but I don’t believe a lack of speed is the issue.

7. Speaking of powerplays, I’ve read in many places over the years how the Oilers supposedly didn’t have a great powerplay in the 1980s. But looking at the stats available now, that seems to be incorrect.

YEAR    PP%           Rank in league     PP Chances   Rank of PP chances
1980    22.3%              12th                61 of 274            12th
1981    22.2%              13th                77 of 374             8th
1982    25.6%               5th                 87 of 340             6th
1983    29.2%               1st                 86 of 294             15th
1984    25.5%               2nd                81 of 318             15th
1985    25.7%               1st                 74 of 288             19th
1986    26.3%               1st                 78 of 297             21st (fewest in league)
1987    22.4%               7th                76 of 313             19th
1988    21.9%               7th                88 of 402             16th
1989    19.8%              17th               83 of 419              7th
1990    20.6%              12th               84 of 407              3rd
1991    17.5%              17th               63 of 361              11th
1992    18.6%              14th               68 of 366             19th

The Oilers made the playoffs in their first 12 seasons. In the seven years of really dominating the NHL, they had a great PP, finishing first three times, second once and top-seven three other times. It is interesting to note from 1983-1988, when the Oilers won four Stanley Cup, they were 15th to 21st in PP chances. I’m pretty sure they weren’t a slow team. I suspect they were near the bottom due to them leading so often, but also because the Oilers have never consistently been a team who draw a lot of penalties.

8. During the nine years Gretzky was in Edmonton the Oilers PP was 3rd best over the nine year span at 24.43%. Trailing only the Islanders 24.87% and Calgary 25.16%. In the 1980s it seemed clear the best teams had fewer penalties. From 1980-1988 the teams with the fewest powerplays were the Islanders, Oilers, Canadiens and Flames. That isn’t the case today.

9. Since the beginning of the 2014/2015 season, the Oilers are one of four teams with less than 800 PP chances. They are 27th with 794, while the Rangers (790), Columbus (788) and Boston (777) are the others. The five teams with the most PP chances in the same span are: Tampa Bay (942), Philadelphia (912), Detroit (907), Dallas (905) and Winnipeg (902). Now let’s look at their combined point totals in that time.

Rangers have the third most 351.
Tampa is 7th with 343
Boston is 14th with 316
Dallas is 15th with 315
Columbus is 16th with 312
Detroit is 21st with 300
Philadelphia is 22nd with 297
Carolina is 24th with 273
Edmonton is 27th with 261

Being good or bad doesn’t seem to impact the amount of powerplays your team gets now compared to in the 1980s. The Rangers have been one of the best, but have 168 fewer powerplays than Tampa Bay, who has eight fewer points in 276 games. I am looking deeper into style of play, etc, but I’ve yet to find any concrete reason to explain why some teams generate more PP opportunities than others.

10. The Blue Jackets are winning with excellent goaltending and strong team defence. They have the third best GAA at 2.4, meanwhile they are 22nd in goals scored. Artemi Panarin leads them with 26 points, which has him 42nd overall in league scoring. Josh Anderson is next with 18th points, 122nd overall. Oliver Bjorkstrand is 3rd among forwards with 16 points. Zack Werenski, 16,  and Seth Jones with 15 points round out their top-five scoring leaders, but they only have three forwards with more than 13 points. Only Anaheim has less with two, Corey Perry and Rickard Rakell, although they traded for Adam Henrique who has 20 points.

11. The Blues Jackets average 2.76 goals per game while the Oilers are slightly better at 2.86. The Blue Jackets don’t have a line that stands out, but all four lines and their defence, with 18 goals and 59 points, chip in. They win with sound defence. They average 2.4 GAA, while the Oilers are at 3.26. The Blue Jackets have allowed two or fewer goals in 16 of their 30 games.

12. The Oilers have allowed two or fewer in 13 of their 30 games, but in 13 other games they have allowed a combined 66 goals. They have been the ultimate Jekyll and Hyde team defensively. They have allowed only three goals in their last two games and surrendered only 47 shots. Maybe they are finally rediscovering their defensive prowess from last season. We’ll see. The Blue Jackets have only allowed four goals eight times this season, so unless the Oilers can get to Sergei Bobrovsky the same way they got to Carey Price on Saturday, they likely will need another strong defensive performance and eek out a low-scoring victory.

Thanks to Joe for his great $5000 bid and to Michelle Derk for the wonderful donation of waiving her realtor fee.

You can bid by calling 780.444.1260  or text 101260 between 2-6 p.m. today.

Thanks in advance. All proceeds will help out The Christmas Bureau