The 2020-21 Edmonton Oilers in Seven: Rebound incoming
By Zach Laing
3 years agoWelcome to year two of the Oilers in Seven series. I kick-started this series last season to break down the Oilers in a smaller sample size. I chose seven games based on the size of a playoff series.
The Numbers
Games 1-7: 3-4, .429 points %
Season record: 3-4, .429 points %, 22nd in the NHL
Games 1-7:
PP% – 11.5, 25th overall.
PK% – 75.0, 21st.
PP% – 11.5, 25th overall.
PK% – 75.0, 21st.
Even Strength
| STAT | RATE G1-7 + LEAGUE RANK |
| CF% | 46.63 — 26th |
| GF% | 46.67 — 21st |
| xGF% | 53.15 — 9th |
| GF/60 | 2.52 — 15th |
| GA/60 | 2.88 — 24th |
| Team SH% | 7.69 — 19th |
| Team SV% | 91.44 — 14th |
| PDO | 99.1 — 19th |
All Situations
| STAT | RATE G1-7 + LEAGUE RANK |
| CF% | 48.00 — 21st |
| GF% | 45.24 — 22nd |
| XGF% | 53.43 — 10th |
| GF/60 | 2.71 — 22nd |
| GA/60 | 3.29 — 22nd |
| TEAM SH% | 8.23 — 23rd |
| TEAM SV% | 90.34 — 15th |
| PDO | 98.6 — 21st |
Stats via Natural Stat Trick, glossary with definitions here.
Player Stats
Stats via Hockey Reference
What it all means
The Oilers have gotten off to a bit of a rough start in the 2020-21 season. They dropped big losses to the Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens in games where the score was closer than it really should’ve been. They’ve rebounded with big wins in their own right, too, taking down the Canucks, Leafs and Jets in three very different styles of games.
If this seven-game set were a playoff series, the Oilers would’ve been down and out early. But the beauty is that the Oilers are in the middle of a 56-game regular season. There are some good things we can take from the start of the Oilers season. First of all, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are producing. McDavid has 10 points to Draisaitl’s nine and beyond McDavid’s big game against the Leafs, the pair have been relatively “quiet.”
In fact, the Oilers as a whole have looked pretty quiet to start the season. Their shot attempt and goals for rate are in the lower third of the league, but their goaltending has been solid from Koskinen thus far stopping a league-average amount of shots. Their solid expected goals rate, coupled with a below-average shooting percentage, leads me to believe the Oilers are due for an offensive rebound sooner than later when it comes to filling the net.
As we look ahead to the next seven games, Edmonton plays the Jets, Leafs twice, the Senators twice, the Flames, and the Sens once more. I really like the Oilers chances in this next set of games to come out with some big performances.
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@oilersnation.com.
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