Goaltending has become the story of the Western Conference second-round playoff series between the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers.
The Oilers had not lost a game during the entire regular season in which they had led by two or more goals after two periods. But that was the regular season.
After four games with the Edmonton Oilers up 3-1 in the series against the Los Angeles Kings, I wanted to get a sense of how the teams have compared and what each team’s strengths and weaknesses have been across their respective rosters.
“We have to be comfortable playing in our defensive zone for 30-45 seconds and not panic.” Mattias Ekholm said those words after the Oilers lost in the second round to Vegas.
Coming into the series, most commentators, including this one talked a lot about the Kings vaunted 1-3-1 neutral zone forecheck. It was certainly on display in game one of the series especially early on.
The Edmonton Oilers came to play from the moment the puck was dropped in an overwhelming 7-4 victory over the Los Angeles Kings Monday night. The Oilers used their speed to maintain a possession advantage over the Kings all night, constantly pinning them down as they laid on the attack.
This time last year, I declared two things in an article at Oilersnation. The first was that I was going to do regular articles previewing the Edmonton Oilers playoff series with a focus on the tactics that would be deployed.
It’s Round 1, Part 3, between the Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings. With the Vegas Golden Knights losing to the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night
According to an anonymous NHL executive who was quoted in a recent article for The Athletic, the Edmonton Oilers are among the favorites to be Stanley Cup contenders this season.
Perhaps head coach Kris Knoblauch didn’t see a blowout coming. Maybe he thought his starting goaltender wouldn’t be rattled after a solid season. Whatever the case, the Edmonton Oilers bench boss admitted after Thursday’s final regular season game that he made a mistake starting Skinner and letting him get lit up for four goals in just minutes.
What a long, strange trip it’s been. On Thursday night, part of that trip ended for the Edmonton Oilers, who finished off their regular season with a 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
The Edmonton Oilers take on the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night, both team’s final game of the 2023-24 regular season. For the Oilers, this will be their last chance to rest their major stars before taking on either the Vegas Golden Knights or Los Angeles Kings.
In the penultimate game of the season, the Edmonton Oilers played a meaningless game for them, losing 5-2. However, to the Arizona Coyotes, the game and the win mean a ton, as the organization will be heading to Salt Lake City.
The Edmonton Oilers got a steal of a deal when they acquired Mattias Ekholm from the Nashville Predators at the 2023 Trade Deadline. They traded Tyson Barrie, Reid Schaefer, and two draft picks in exchange for Ekholm, and he has been everything the Oilers wanted and more.
Mattias Ekholm reached a personal milestone when he found the back of the net early in the second period. As the Oilers were cycling the puck in the Vegas end, Ekholm found an open lane while the Golden Knights were more concerned about watching the puck.
As the Edmonton Oilers take on the Vegas Golden Knights, Mattias Ekholm has reached a new career high in goals and tied his career high in points on the Oilers’ second goal of the night putting them up 2-0 over the Golden Knights.
In February 2023, Ken Holland made his boldest move as the Edmonton Oilers general manager when he dealt Tyson Barrie, Reid Schaefer, and a first-round pick to acquire Mattias Ekholm from the Nashville Predators.
Mattias Ekholm is a force to be reckoned with this season. Since his acquisition in 2022, Ekhom has solidified himself as an elite defender. As well as being an elite defender, he recently found his offensive game elevated.
Oilers Now host and play-by-play radio voice of the Edmonton Oilers, Bob Stauffer highlighted a compelling statistic today, shedding light on the Edmonton Oilers’ remarkable success since the arrival of defenseman Mattias Ekholm from Nashville.
No timeline for the defenseman’s return is known at this point.
Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland has said that Mattias Ekholm will miss the start of training camp with a hip flexor. No timeline for the defenseman’s return is known at this point.
Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk look at some of their old takes and highlight some misses on the latest episode of Daily Faceoff Live.
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