NHL Notebook: Oilers outside top-10 in Daily Faceoff power rankings as Kyle Connor returns to Jets lineup, Mark Scheifele lands on IR
By Zach Laing
6 months agoThe Edmonton Oilers are in the midst of a franchise record-setting winning streak, but that’s not enough to get them into the NHL’s top 10, according to Daily Faceoff’s latest power rankings.
And while they did elevate from the No. 13 slot they held last week, it’s only brought them to the 11th spot in the league.
Here’s what Daily Faceoff’s Mike Gould wrote about the Oilers, who went 3-0 over the course of the week beating the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens:
The Oilers have looked like world-beaters during their 10-game winning streak. They’ve overcome a fair amount of adversity this season (they’ve already made a coaching change, after all). Their upcoming schedule is pretty light. No, this team’s playoff spot isn’t carved into stone, but we’re at the point where it’d be surprising if they didn’t make it. If they play like this in the postseason, they’ll have a shot at winning a game past the second round for the first time in the McDavid era. But that’s an enormous “if.”
I mean… sure. The Oilers have had some soft competition over this stretch, but in a league like the NHL, there’s no such thing as free wins, or gimmies. That Chicago game is a great example, because they played the Oilers hard, not only outshooting them, but nearly beating them. Chicago, for as bad as they are, are giving teams tough games this year. They beat Calgary just before the Oilers game, and nearly toppled the Jets’ winning streak on the 11th.
Here are the teams ahead of the Oilers, how they fared in the last seven days, and their records since Edmonto’s coaching change:
| Team | Last week | Season, points percentage |
| Oilers | 3-0 | 20-6, .769 |
| Kings | 0-1-2 | 13-8-5, .596 |
| Golden Knights | 1-2 | 13-12-4, .517 |
| Stars | 3-1 | 15-9-4, .607 |
| Hurricanes | 2-0 | 15-8-5, .625 |
| Rangers | 1-3 | 16-11-1, .589 |
| Canucks | 4-0 | 18-8-3, .672 |
| Jets | 2-1 | 21-5-2, .786 |
| Avalanche | 3-0 | 20-8-3, .694 |
| Panthers | 2-1 | 18-9-2, .655 |
| Bruins | 1-0-3 | 15-7-7, .638 |
The Oilers’ points percentage since the coaching change, which has seen the team play two-thirds of their total games on the season, is second best in the league to only the Jets.
Edmonton plays the Maple Leafs tonight, the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, and the Calgary Flames next Saturday night. Let’s see what they do, and if it raises them in the rankings further.
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Connor returns for Jets, Scheifele lands on IR
The Winnipeg Jets, already one of the best teams in the league, as seen above, are getting a boost as Kyle Connor is set to return to their lineup, but suffering another blow as Mark Scheifele lands on the injured reserve.
Shelved since a Dec. 10 game against the Anaheim Ducks, Connor has scored 17 goals and 28 points in 26 games this season.
Scheifele, meanwhile, was placed on the injured reserve retroactive to January 12th. Banged up in a game last Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks, he missed a Friday practice for the Jets, and was out of their lineup Saturday against the Flyers, one they fell 2-0 in, snapping an eight-game winning streak.
The Jets take on the New York Islanders Tuesday night before a three-game road trip in which they’ll visit the Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
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