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3 Reasons Why Edmonton Oilers Can Win the Stanley Cup

McDavid, Draisaitl Have Some Unfinished Business

Death, taxes and the Edmonton Oilers ousting the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs are constants in the world these days. The Kings went through the five games without scoring on the power play and the best players for the Oilers were the best players as Edmonton moved into the second round for the third season in a row. The NHL betting lines had Edmonton at +400 to win the series in five games.

Since reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 2006, Edmonton has failed to qualify for the playoffs 12 times, lost its opening series twice and gotten past the second round just once. During that span, Edmonton has an 8-3 playoff record against Los Angeles and is 14-22 against the rest of the NHL.

3 Reasons Why Edmonton Oilers Can Win the Stanley Cup
Stuart Skinner #74 of the Edmonton Oilers| Codie McLachlan/Getty Images/AFP

When looking at the NHL futures odds, the Oilers are tied for third at +650 in the odds of winning the Stanley Cup. Edmonton leads the way at +300 in the odds of winning the Western Conference title.

Edmonton awaits the winner of the Vancouver-Nashville series. Vancouver can close out the series on Friday. If Nashville wins, the series heads to a winner-take-all Game 7. If Vancouver advances, the Oilers will begin the next series on the road. A matchup with the Predators would begin in Edmonton.

 

Star Power Abounds in Edmonton

When it comes to having players who can take over a game, how many teams can top the duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl?

McDavid leads the Stanley Cup playoffs with 12 points and Draisaitl is second with 10 points. The NHL odds have them among the top contenders in the early Conn Smythe Trophy race.

Draisaitl scored twice while McDavid assisted on both of those goals as the Oilers turned a 2-1 deficit in the second period of Game 5 into a 3-2 lead. Zach Hyman scored his team-leading seventh goal of the series with 53 seconds to play in the second period.

 

 

Los Angeles did pull within one goal late, but it was too little, too late for the Kings.

McDavid and Draisaitl have each won scoring titles, been the Hart Trophy winner as the Most Valuable Player in the NHL and enjoyed more than their share of highlights.

Since McDavid and Draisaitl became teammates beginning in the 2015-16 season, they rank first and second in the NHL with 1.61 points per game in the playoffs. McDavid’s 1.52 points per game mark in the regular season tops the NHL during that stretch with Draisaitl fourth at 1.23.

Both of them are driven by the quest to win the Stanley Cup.

Edmonton hasn’t won the Stanley Cup since 1990, and the last Canadian team to win the NHL championship was the 1992-93 Montreal Canadiens.

 

Let’s Get Physical

In past years, some of the players who skated alongside McDavid and Draisaitl had plenty of talent but some of them were lacking in the grit department.

Winning in the playoffs is hard to do when players are losing the physical battles.

Adam Henrique, acquired from Anaheim at the trade deadline, leads all Edmonton forwards with 22 hits in the playoffs. Hyman not only had seven goals in the series, he also had 18 hits while Evander Kane added 17 hits. Veteran Corey Perry was brought in with the idea of helping the Oilers do what it takes to move along in the postseason.

Edmonton has the second-most blocked shots in the playoffs and the most among the teams still in contention for Lord Stanley’s Cup so that could pay dividends moving forward.

 

Oiler on a Power Trip

A note of caution to opponents of the Edmonton Oilers: Take penalties at your own risk

The Oilers led the way with the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs by scoring on 46.2% of their power plays. They are clicking along at a 45% clip this year.

When Blake Lizotte gave Los Angeles the one-goal lead early in the second period and the Kings threatened to extend the series, the power play came to the rescue with Draisaitl scoring off assists from McDavid and Evan Bouchard on the man advantage.

Not only did Edmonton score on nine of its 20 power plays, the Oilers killed off all 12 of the power plays that the Kings earned.

 

 

Questions of the Day

 

Who are the top scorers for the Edmonton Oilers?


Connor McDavid leads all players in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 11 assists and 12 points. Leon Draisaitl has five goals and five assists, Evan Bouchard is tied with Colorado’s Cale Makar for the scoring lead among defensemen with nine points while Zach Hyman has seven goals.

How many times have the Edmonton Oilers reached the Stanley Cup Final?


Edmonton won the Stanley Cup in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1990. They lost in the Stanley Cup Final in 1983 and 2006.

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