Matchups is dedicated to providing quick news, notes, and stats ahead on game days and within the divisions. We take a look at everything from head-to-head matchups before the puck drops to how teams stack up against each other around the league. We’ll show you the ins and outs from both sides of the ice to ensure that you’ve got the knowledge to power you to chirping victory.
This has been an unusual series. No goalie has won a game with a .900 sv%. Usually a sub .900Sv% is a recipe for a loss, but not for the Oilers or Hawks and goaltending has not been the main reason a team has won or lost a game in my eyes. Each team has…
Dave Tippett challenged his team to play with more drive, passion and competitiveness prior to game two, and they responded. Captain Connor McDavid won the opening faceoff and then scored 19 seconds later. That set the tone for the Oilers. They weren’t going to feel their way into game two. They need to play with…
My excitement for hockey is likely why the past three weeks seemed to last much longer than the previous four months while we waited for the NHL season to resume. The players have been in training camps for three weeks and this afternoon they finally get to play a meaningful game. The players are stoked….
Crawling into bed with freshly clean sheets, a long hug from a loved one, that first, perfect bite of barbequed steak…we always hear it’s the little things in life that make a big difference and today that rings very true. I love sports, especially hockey, and the return of the NHL is one of those…
After Monday’s loss to Vegas Dave Tippett was very blunt about his team’s performance, or lack there of. “Our execution is so poor in a lot of different situations,” said Tippett. “Some of it is just guys being on their own page, thinking they can vary from the game plan. This is as disconnected as…
Without question, tonight’s match up against Vegas is the most important meeting between these two franchises. It is only their 11th meeting all time, and the first one with both teams in a playoff race. But despite the lack of history, this is a big game. I’d argue it has a little more meaning for…
After finishing up a seven-game stretch in which they played in seven different cities over the span of 14 days, the Oilers are back in Edmonton for a four-game homestand. It begins tonight with a match against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Edmonton Oilers have scored on 29.9% of their powerplays. That is the highest success rate since the 1979 New York Islanders’ PP was 31.1%. In 1978 the Islanders were 31.4%, while the 1978 Montreal Canadiens set the NHL record at 31.9% scoring 73 goals on 229 opportunities. The NHL didn’t officially calculate powerplay and…
The flight from Nashville to Dallas is about an hour and 45 minutes. It likely felt much quicker for the Edmonton Oilers after they crushed the Nashville Predators 8-3 last night. Now they turn their focus to the Dallas Stars, a much tougher opponent. But the Oilers are no longer the weakling of the NHL….
To steal the term directly associated with NCAA Basketball, the Oilers are entering their own March Madness. Starting tonight they play nine games in 15 days. It is a hectic schedule, and it will be interesting to see how Dave Tippett manages the minutes of his top players. Nine of the games are on the…
After going 1-1-1 on their three-game swing through California and Vegas, the Oilers will return home for a game with the Winnipeg Jets before setting out on the road again.
Last week, Ken Holland spoke outside the Oilers dressing room and said the players and coaches have done their job and he was hoping to help them out before the trade deadline. He lived up to his promise, acquiring Mike Green, Andreas Athanasiou and Tyler Ennis. Athanasiou should have the biggest impact, as he will…
