Why the Oilers’ depth scoring has fallen off
Since the start of February, the Edmonton Oilers haven’t quite been the electrifying offensive force that has defined them through the last few years.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl continue to lead the scoring output, but depth scoring has had a complete fall-off for the club. Since the 4 Nations Face-Off, the team ranks 15th at goals at even strength.
Sitting second in the Pacific Division on 68 points, the Oilers only trail the Vegas Golden Knights and have 18 games remaining in the regular season before taking on what they hope to be another lengthy Stanley Cup playoff run.
On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk were joined by former QMJHL coach Jon Goyens for another edition of “The Coach’s Room,” where they discuss the Oilers’ offensive struggles and what factors are behind them.
Yaremchuk: “With this Oilers team, everyone knows McDavid and Draisaitl; they are the guys who drive a lot of the offense, but the depth scoring has kind of fallen off a little bit. What were you able to find frustrating in your deep dive?”
Goyens: “Kris Knoblauch said, ‘if you’re not contributing offensively, you can also be contributing to the offense of the other team,’ and I think that’s a huge issue right now with the Oilers out of the guys that aren’t contributing offensively.
“It’s crazy because there are elements like their forecheck, but they are by far number one in offensive zone possession time since the 4 Nations but the problem is that there is no secondary scoring.
“I made this kind of comment about the [Montreal] Canadiens recently, where they have a top three and a bottom nine. If Draisaitl and McDavid are on the same line, you’re almost looking at the same type of situation. In Edmonton, there is no depth scoring.
“I’m looking at how they are getting to certain spots, but they can’t finish. It’s the old saying ‘you wouldn’t hit water if you fall out of a boat,’ and that’s kind of what we’re seeing from the Oilers. I’ve got about six clips here that’ll demonstrate their inability to execute.”
You can catch the full segment and episode below.