<p>The Edmonton Oilers are playing their best hockey of the season right now.</p>
<p></p>
<p>The team is on a five-game winning streak following Saturday afternoon&#8217;s win over the Vegas Golden Knights and they&#8217;ll be tested again on Monday when they host the Florida Panthers for the first time since&#8230; You know.</p>
<p><em>Daily Faceoff</em> released their latest <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/nhl-power-rankings-mcdavid-and-draisaitl-in-prime-form-during-oilers-surge">NHL Power Rankings</a> and the Oilers have jumped up to eighth place. Both the Los Angeles Kings and the Golden Knights rank ahead of them but the defending Stanley Cup Champions are listed in tenth.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;After a suboptimal start at 10-9-2 through their first 21 games, the Oilers have won eight of their last nine games and have climbed out of the depths of the NHL standings. Credit to Zach Hyman for finding his game, scoring five goals in his last five contests. But what’s really impressive is how well Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have played recently, with the captain recording two goals and eight assists in his last five, and Draisaitl scoring five goals and eight assists in the same timeframe. Narratives may not get Kris Knoblauch a spot at the Jack Adams Award table, but he’s done a great job with this group.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<h2>Lindy Ruff &#8216;almost lost for words’ over Sabres&#8217; losing streak</h2>
<p>Times are tough in Buffalo right now. The Sabres have dropped ten consecutive games and their odds of being in the playoff picture when the calendar flips to 2025 are starting to dwindle.</p>
<p>After Sunday&#8217;s loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ruff spoke to <a href="https://x.com/ByMHarrington/status/1868465349315699024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sabres’ columnist Mike Harrington</a> and quickly took accountability for getting his hockey club back on track.</p>
<blockquote><p>“I’m almost lost for words obviously. It’s on me to solve this. This is the toughest solve I’ve been around. It is on me to get these guys in the right place and win a hockey game and nobody else. Just me.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Patience is understandably lacking in Buffalo right now considering the Sabres haven&#8217;t made the playoffs in 13 seasons, a league record that doesn&#8217;t have an end in sight. <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/sources-sabres-not-expecting-big-shakeup-after-monday-meeting-with-owner-terry-pegula">According to Frank Seravalli</a>, Sabres owner Terry Pegula travelled to meet with the team Montréal. While fans might have been expecting that meeting to lead to a firing or a trade, Seravalli reported that Pegula isn&#8217;t interested in making a knee-jerk reaction.</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="mb-4 text-lg"><a class="text-secondary underline underline-offset-2" href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/buffalo-sabres/line-combinations" hreflang="en">&#8220;Buffalo Sabres</a> owner Terry Pegula traveled to Montréal to meet with his team at Bell Centre on Monday in lieu of practice. Despite a loud outcry from fans, it doesn’t sound as if demands for change will be answered now. Rather than peel the paint off the walls speaking to a team that has lost 10 straight games (0-7-3), sources indicated to <em class="text-lg italic">Daily Faceoff</em> that the tone of Pegula’s message was largely positive – despite his team floundering to the bottom of the Eastern Conference while riding the second-longest playoff drought in North American pro sports at 13 years,.</p>
<p class="mb-4 text-lg">Sources said Pegula told Sabres players that he believes in the team and that he was confident the solution is “within this room.” He also professed his faith in GM Kevyn Adams and coach Lindy Ruff and apparently told players to “not expect a big trade,” Pegula saying that he believes Adams and the front office has built a good team.</p>
<p>Adams had been engaged in various trade conversations over the last month or longer, but he was up against the clock to pull something off this week. The NHL’s holiday roster freeze, which prohibits trades around the holiday season, kicks in at midnight on Thursday and lasts through midnight on Dec. 28. Pegula opted for a reset on Monday rather than a knee-jerk transaction or job change, believing that the only way out is through.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<h2>Blues acquire defenceman Cam Fowler from Ducks</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/st-louis-blues/line-combinations">St. Louis Blues</a> and Anaheim Ducks linked up on a trade over the weekend, as veteran defenceman Cam Fowler was moved in exchange for prospect Jeremie Biakabutka and a second-round pick.</p>
<p>Selected by the Ducks with the 12th overall pick in the 2010 draft, Fowler suited up with another team other than Anaheim for the first time in his NHL career on Saturday when he made his debut with the Blues.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Welcome to the <a href="https://twitter.com/StLouisBlues?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StLouisBlues</a>, Cam Fowler! 🎶 <a href="https://t.co/Tjw0EVbPTg">pic.twitter.com/Tjw0EVbPTg</a></p>
<p>&mdash; NHL (@NHL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1868096878207734164?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>After the Ducks acquired Jacob Trouba from the New York Rangers, moving out Fowler seemed inevitable. The 33-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2025-26 season when the <a href="https://puckpedia.com/player/cam-fowler">eight-year, $52 million contract</a> he signed in July of 2017 comes to an end.</p>

The Edmonton Oilers are playing their best hockey of the season right now.



The team is on a five-game winning streak following Saturday afternoon's win over the Vegas Golden Knights and they'll be tested again on Monday when they host the Florida Panthers for the first time since... You know.

<em>Daily Faceoff</em> released their latest <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/nhl-power-rankings-mcdavid-and-draisaitl-in-prime-form-during-oilers-surge">NHL Power Rankings</a> and the Oilers have jumped up to eighth place. Both the Los Angeles Kings and the Golden Knights rank ahead of them but the defending Stanley Cup Champions are listed in tenth.
<blockquote>"After a suboptimal start at 10-9-2 through their first 21 games, the Oilers have won eight of their last nine games and have climbed out of the depths of the NHL standings. Credit to Zach Hyman for finding his game, scoring five goals in his last five contests. But what’s really impressive is how well Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have played recently, with the captain recording two goals and eight assists in his last five, and Draisaitl scoring five goals and eight assists in the same timeframe. Narratives may not get Kris Knoblauch a spot at the Jack Adams Award table, but he’s done a great job with this group."</blockquote>
<h2>Lindy Ruff 'almost lost for words’ over Sabres' losing streak</h2>
Times are tough in Buffalo right now. The Sabres have dropped ten consecutive games and their odds of being in the playoff picture when the calendar flips to 2025 are starting to dwindle.

After Sunday's loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ruff spoke to <a href="https://x.com/ByMHarrington/status/1868465349315699024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sabres’ columnist Mike Harrington</a> and quickly took accountability for getting his hockey club back on track.
<blockquote>“I’m almost lost for words obviously. It’s on me to solve this. This is the toughest solve I’ve been around. It is on me to get these guys in the right place and win a hockey game and nobody else. Just me.”</blockquote>
Patience is understandably lacking in Buffalo right now considering the Sabres haven't made the playoffs in 13 seasons, a league record that doesn't have an end in sight. <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/sources-sabres-not-expecting-big-shakeup-after-monday-meeting-with-owner-terry-pegula">According to Frank Seravalli</a>, Sabres owner Terry Pegula travelled to meet with the team Montréal. While fans might have been expecting that meeting to lead to a firing or a trade, Seravalli reported that Pegula isn't interested in making a knee-jerk reaction.
<blockquote>
<p class="mb-4 text-lg"><a class="text-secondary underline underline-offset-2" href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/buffalo-sabres/line-combinations" hreflang="en">"Buffalo Sabres</a> owner Terry Pegula traveled to Montréal to meet with his team at Bell Centre on Monday in lieu of practice. Despite a loud outcry from fans, it doesn’t sound as if demands for change will be answered now. Rather than peel the paint off the walls speaking to a team that has lost 10 straight games (0-7-3), sources indicated to <em class="text-lg italic">Daily Faceoff</em> that the tone of Pegula’s message was largely positive – despite his team floundering to the bottom of the Eastern Conference while riding the second-longest playoff drought in North American pro sports at 13 years,.</p>
<p class="mb-4 text-lg">Sources said Pegula told Sabres players that he believes in the team and that he was confident the solution is “within this room.” He also professed his faith in GM Kevyn Adams and coach Lindy Ruff and apparently told players to “not expect a big trade,” Pegula saying that he believes Adams and the front office has built a good team.</p>
Adams had been engaged in various trade conversations over the last month or longer, but he was up against the clock to pull something off this week. The NHL’s holiday roster freeze, which prohibits trades around the holiday season, kicks in at midnight on Thursday and lasts through midnight on Dec. 28. Pegula opted for a reset on Monday rather than a knee-jerk transaction or job change, believing that the only way out is through."</blockquote>
<h2>Blues acquire defenceman Cam Fowler from Ducks</h2>
The <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/st-louis-blues/line-combinations">St. Louis Blues</a> and Anaheim Ducks linked up on a trade over the weekend, as veteran defenceman Cam Fowler was moved in exchange for prospect Jeremie Biakabutka and a second-round pick.

Selected by the Ducks with the 12th overall pick in the 2010 draft, Fowler suited up with another team other than Anaheim for the first time in his NHL career on Saturday when he made his debut with the Blues.

https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1868096878207734164

After the Ducks acquired Jacob Trouba from the New York Rangers, moving out Fowler seemed inevitable. The 33-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2025-26 season when the <a href="https://puckpedia.com/player/cam-fowler">eight-year, $52 million contract</a> he signed in July of 2017 comes to an end.

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