The road has been rocky for the Edmonton Oilers over the past month. However, Thursday’s win against the Montreal Canadiens felt like they’re trending back in a positive direction. Now, they face the tough task of the Dallas Stars and, their newly acquired superstar, Mikko Rantanen.
1. Stan Bowman added three players via trade without subtract anyone from the active roster. By paying for retained cap space and utilizing Evander Kane’s LTIR money, Bowman acquired forwards Trent Frederic and Max Jones from the Boston Bruins, and then defenceman Jake Walman from the San Jose Sharks. A few picks and middling prospects were lost in the process but, overall, Edmonton had a positive week off the ice despite how the team has played recently.
2. Bowman mentioned that Walman is expected to make his Oilers debut against the Stars. Additionally, he brought up the versatility Walman brings to the blueline, due to his ability to play either side and be a minute muncher.
3. Much like Bowman, Dallas Stars general manager, Jim Nill, was active in his push to make his team the best in the West. They made the biggest addition on Friday, bringing in Mikko Rantanen, who was the top player on Frank Seravalli’s trade targets board, with Logan Stankovan and high picks going back to Carolina. Before the 4 Nations Face Off break, the Stars also traded for former Oiler Cody Ceci and Mikael Granlund from the San Jose Sharks. They’re now the odds on favourites at bet365 to be the 2025 Stanley Cup Champions.
4. Edmonton’s 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night ended a four game home losing streak. They’d only lost nine games at home until that point, one in overtime, so a four game losing streak at Rogers Place was incredibly uncharacteristic. The Oilers are now 19-11-2 at home which is the 13th best home record in the NHL.
5. Last time we chatted in game notes, it was mentioned how great Connor McDavid has performed in the month of March with 207 points in 123 games. Well, that form has continued with one goal and five points since the month began. As grim as the 6-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks was, seeing McDavid fly around the ice was something the fan base hadn’t seen for too long. The Oilers captain has performed well against the Stars in 22 games against them, scoring 30 points.
6. In last season’s Western Conference Final, McDavid scored the overtime winner in game one along with the outstanding goal in Game 6, which made Miro Heiskanen look like an average joe. He finished that series with 10 points, helping the Oilers advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
7. Leon Draisaitl extended his point streak to 13 games with a goal and an assist in Thursday’s win over Montreal. A point today against Dallas would tie his career-high of a 14-game streak. Draisaitl has 11 goals and 20 points in those 13 games. Additionally, the Oilers superstar has 7 goals and 25 points in as many games versus Dallas in his career.
8. The Stars power play sits in the middle of the pack this season at 22.6%. However, there penalty kill is the best in the NHL at 84.3%. With that said, they’ve allowed three power play goals in there last three games. Furthermore, Edmonton has scored a power play goal in five of their last seven games.
9. Jake Oettinger has bounced back for the Stars this season, currently holding a 0.911 SV% and a 2.42 GAA. He’s been fantastic for them, too, since returning from the break minus the loss to Columbus. He had a 0.821SV% that night but has had a save percentage of 0.919 or better in his other four starts.
