Game Notes Senators @ Oilers: Seven Heaven

The Edmonton Oilers haven’t won seven consecutive games against the same franchise since 2009. They defeated the Coyotes seven in a row between October 18th, 2017, and February 16th, 2009. They also beat the St. Louis Blues eight in a row from December 11th, 2007 to December, 11th, 2009. Exactly two years apart.

Tonight they look to continue their dominance over the Ottawa Senators by winning for the seventh time in 29 games.

— I’ve seen many people suggest wins over Ottawa aren’t as impressive as beating other divisional rivals. In the time Edmonton has gone 6-0 over Ottawa, the Senators are 8-7 against Calgary, Toronto, Montreal and Winnipeg. You get two points for a win over Ottawa the same as two points over the other five North teams. I’d argue the fact Edmonton hasn’t let up against the Senators is a positive.

— The Oilers finished their first half with a record of 17-11. They are 14-5 in their previous 19 games. They’ve rebounded nicely after a rough 3-6 start. The biggest improvement has come in their defensive play, but also their puck possession has allowed them to spend less time in their own end. They’ve cut down on sequences where they are hemmed in their zone for shift after shift, which in the past would eventually lead to goals against.

— You can’t erase the start, as all games matter, but Edmonton is clearly a more complete team now than they were in January.

Here is where the Oilers rank all season through 28 games:

8th in points with 34.
14th in P% at .607
6th in GF/G with 3.32
17th in GA/G at 2.96
7th in 5×5 GF/G at 2.17
24th in 5×5 GA/G at 2.07
7th on PP at 26.6%
21st on PK at 76.7%
13th in FOW% at 50.9%
Team SV% is 15th at .908.

— Now here is where they rank from February 1st to now in 17 games:

6th in points with 24.
4th in P% at .706
9th in GF/G at 3.24
6th in GA/G at 2.47
4th in 5×5 GF/G at 2.29
13th in 5×5 GA/G at 1.88
7th on PP at 25%
9th on PK at 82%
14th in FOW% at 50.5%
Team Sv% is 5th at .919

Their defensive game has improved immensely. @Mike Smith has played very well, and Koskinen, despite early shot jitters, has been solid as well, but the team structure in front of the goalies has made their life much easier.

— Courtesy of SportLogiq I got the Oilers defenceman stats for controlled entries, controlled entries with scoring chance after, controlled exits and outlet pass completions.
** Any completed pass (up ice) inside the defensive zone. This does not include lateral passes to defence partner, or passes off boards behind the net.**

Nurse and Barrie have been very good passing, transporting the puck and creating chances. Similar to last season,Bear is a good outlet passer, but he doesn’t carry the puck out of the zone or enter the offensive zone often. Bear has played 293 minutes while Kris Russell has played 342, but Russell has over twice as many controlled exits, and almost twice as many controlled entries, while having only three fewer outlet passes.

— How do Barrie and Nurse compare to the rest of the league? Here are the top-50 D-men in each category.

Nurse is 8th, 10th, 17th and 8th, while Barrie ranks 17th, 16th, 15th and 7th. Both are having excellent seasons moving and transporting the puck.

— On a side note, it’s interesting to see how much @Roman Josi carries the puck out of the D zone and intro the offensive zone. I wonder how much that negatively impacts their forwards as they have to wait for him. He is 40th in outlet passes. Maybe they aren’t giving him options, I’d like to dig deeper on that, but he carries the puck significantly more than other mobile D-men.

— Here is a look at the Oilers forwards in controlled entries, controlled exits, rush chances, slots shots and slot pass completions. Kind of what you’d expect.

— Where do the Oilers top-stars rank across the league?

McDavid is first in every category except zone exits, where he is fifth. Draisaitl is second in zone exits and slot pass completions, fifth in zone entries and 23rd in shots slots.
RNH is fifth in shot slots and he has 10 goals. If he keeps getting that many shots from the slot, there is a good chance he will score more goals in the second half.

— How good of a signing has Carter Verhaeghe been for Florida? His $1m cap hit for two years has to be the best value UFA signing. He has 9-9-18 in 26 games for Florida and he’s been a demon off the rush for the Panthers.

— The Oilers need the win tonight. They play in Vancouver tomorrow, which will be their third game in four nights and the backend of a back-to-back. Meanwhile the Canucks will be well rested as they haven’t played since Wednesday. Edmonton needs to continue their dominance over the Senators.

—Tonight is the start of five games in seven nights for the Oilers. And it will be their toughest travel of the season as the play at home tonight, in Vancouver tomorrow, in Calgary on Monday and Wednesday, home to Winnipeg next Thursday and Saturday before flying to Montreal. It might not seem like it, but these are two important points tonight.