Edmonton Oilers

How Edmonton plays, trait by trait, against the rest of the league.

Real numbers through Oct 10: 4 games this season, blended with last season. Traits that take longer to settle lean more on last season.

Real numbers through Oct 10, from this season’s 4 games only. Expect these to swing a lot this early, which is why the likely ranges are so wide.

Offense

• Shot volume
  SelectiveRelentless

  56.5 shot attempts per 6016th of 32

  56.7 shot attempts per 6015th of 32

• Shot quality
  HopefulDangerous

  a 6.6% chance of scoring on the average shot10th of 32

  a 6.6% chance of scoring on the average shot17th of 32

• Second chances
  One-and-doneCrashers

  9.8% of chances come from rebounds31st of 32

  5.5% of chances come from rebounds28th of 32

• Off-turnover offense
  PatientOpportunist

  6.8% of chances come right after a turnover28th of 32

  7.1% of chances come right after a turnover19th of 32

• Shots from defensemen
  Forward-ledActive D

  35.9% of shot attempts come from defensemen9th of 32

  33.3% of shot attempts come from defensemen19th of 32

• Shots from in close
  From distanceIn close

  30.5% of shots come from within 20 feet18th of 32

  26.4% of shots come from within 20 feet26th of 32

Defense

• Shot suppression
  PorousStingy

  53.8 shot attempts allowed per 6010th of 32

  49.9 shot attempts allowed per 607th of 32

• Quality allowed
  ExposedSheltered

  a 6.5% chance of scoring on the average shot against25th of 32

  a 6.3% chance of scoring on the average shot against16th of 32

• Breakdowns avoided
  Fire drillComposed

  0.45 defensive breakdowns per 6029th of 32

  0.33 defensive breakdowns per 6014th of 32

• Goaltending
  SieveWall

  +0.04 goals saved above expected per 6027th of 32

  −1.47 goals saved above expected per 6030th of 32

Tempo and edge

• Pace
  SlogTrack meet

  80.1 shots per 60, both teams combined24th of 32

  74.8 shots per 60, both teams combined24th of 32

• Forecheck pressure
  PassiveHounding

  forecheck score 109 (100 is league average)7th of 3226.0 forecheck plays recorded per 607th of 32

  forecheck score 125 (100 is league average)6th of 3232.5 forecheck plays recorded per 602nd of 32

• Physicality
  FinesseBruising

  hit score 110 (100 is league average)8th of 3230.6 hits recorded per 604th of 32

  hit score 132 (100 is league average)2nd of 3241.0 hits recorded per 602nd of 32

• Depth
  Top-heavyDeep

  40.3% of forward ice time at 5-on-5 goes to the bottom six29th of 32

  40.8% of forward ice time at 5-on-5 goes to the bottom six24th of 32

Special teams

• Power play
  HarmlessLethal

  9.5 expected goals per 60 on the power play1st of 32

  8.3 expected goals per 60 on the power play8th of 32

• Penalty kill
  LeakyAirtight

  8.1 expected goals allowed per 60 shorthanded25th of 32

  6.2 expected goals allowed per 60 shorthanded11th of 32

• Power kill
  BunkeredPredatory

  1.1 expected goals created per 60 shorthanded5th of 32

  1.0 expected goals created per 60 shorthanded13th of 32

• Discipline
  RecklessClean

  0.04 more penalties drawn than taken per 6013th of 32

  0.99 more penalties drawn than taken per 604th of 32

Forecheck pressure and physicality are shown as arena-adjusted scores; switch “Hits and takeaways” to Raw in the settings to see the numbers as recorded. How the arena adjustment works.

Who Edmonton leans on, and what they do best.

• Connor McDavid

  23:56 a game

  #97 · Center · 12 P in 4 GP (3 G, 9 A)

  • Most ice time
  • L1 · Draisaitl, Podkolzin
  • PP1
  • Kills penalties
  • Tough minutes
  • Creating chances3rd
  • Setting up goalsTop 10
  • Top speed3rd
  • Shot blockingbottom 6%
  • Top speed1st
  • Fast bursts2nd
  • Distance skatedTop 10

• Leon Draisaitl

  21:15 a game

  #29 · Center · 9 P in 4 GP (3 G, 6 A)

  • 2nd in ice time
  • L1 · McDavid, Podkolzin
  • PP1
  • Setting up goalsTop 10
  • Finishingtop 4%
  • Power-play chancesTop 10
  • Shot blockingbottom 1%
  • Shooting volumeTop 10
  • Preventing chancestop 19%
  • Creating his own chancestop 20%

• Zach Hyman

  20:33 a game

  #18 · Left wing · 0 P in 1 GP (0 G, 0 A)

  • Creating his own chancesTop 5
  • Power-play chancesTop 10
  • Creating chancestop 8%
  • Takeawaysbottom 2%

  No clear strengths or weak spots yet.

• Vasily Podkolzin

  18:45 a game

  #92 · Right wing · 6 P in 4 GP (4 G, 2 A)

  • L1 · Draisaitl, McDavid
  • PP1
  • Hittingtop 12%
  • Shot blockingtop 14%
  • Distance skatedtop 12%
  • Drawing penaltiesbottom 22%
  • Creating his own chancestop 10%
  • Hittingtop 13%
  • Shooting volumetop 16%

• Evan Bouchard

  25:03 a game

  #2 · Defenseman · 11 P in 4 GP (6 G, 5 A)

  • Most ice time
  • P2 · Ekholm
  • PP1
  • Kills penalties
  • Shooting volume3rd
  • Creating his own chances2nd
  • Finishing1st
  • Shot blockingbottom 3%
  • FinishingTop 5
  • Shooting volumetop 5%
  • Creating his own chancestop 16%

• Ryan Shea

  22:57 a game

  #6 · Defenseman · 3 P in 4 GP (1 G, 2 A)

  • 2nd in ice time
  • P1 · Murphy
  • PP2
  • Kills penalties
  • Staying out of the boxTop 10
  • Setting up goalstop 6%
  • Creating chancestop 15%
  • Shot blockingbottom 6%
  • Shot blockingbottom 16%

The 4 forwards and 2 defensemen with the most ice time a game (at least half the games played). Tags show how each is used; rows show his clearest strengths, and a weak spot in grey, as a percentile against his position. Point at anything for details. All Oilers players.

Who plays together at 5-on-5, and how each group is doing.

Lines and pairs are numbered by 5-on-5 ice time together over the team’s last 10 games (4 so far this season), with each older game counting half as much as the one after it, so the latest combinations come first. With so few games, each group’s results are pulled toward the average for its line number.

Last game

Which opposing lines each Edmonton group has actually been out against at 5-on-5.

Each strip adds to 100%: it shows how one Edmonton group’s 5-on-5 time is split across the opponent’s four forward lines, numbered the same way as above. Sized by ice time, a wider box means more time against that line; even columns line the boxes up so you can compare groups straight down. At home the coach changes last and picks these matchups; on the road the other coach does. Faded rows have under ten minutes.

What “with no line matching” means: if a coach just rolled his lines and took whoever was out there, each of his groups would face the opponent’s first line about as often as that line is on the ice. If opposing first lines play a third of the time against Edmonton, every Edmonton group would see them for about a third of its shifts. A number well above that means the coach is sending that group out against them on purpose; well below means he is keeping it away.

Who Edmonton sends out with a man up and a man down.

Each power-play unit is built around its quarterback, the defenseman running it, plus the four players most often out with him over the last 10 games (4 so far). Power-play units’ expected goals per 60 are pulled toward league average while samples are small. Penalty kills are too loose for fixed units (the most common foursome covers only about a tenth of a typical team’s shorthanded time), so penalty killers are grouped by when they go on: the ones who start kills, the second wave who come on after the first change, and spot duty. Point at a power-play name to see his shots on the map.

What the tags mean

Quarterbackthe defenseman who runs the unit from the blue line.

Triggerthe unit’s main shooter, with the most dangerous power-play shots on the team over this season and last.

Distributorthe main passer, with the most first assists on the team’s power-play goals over this season and last.

Net-frontparks in front of the net. At least 40% of his power-play shots come from within 15 feet.

Pointa second defenseman on the unit, alongside the quarterback.

Is he stopping more than he should, and what is his team asking him to face?

Expected-goal models can’t see passes before a shot, so a goalie whose team gives up a lot of cross-ice passes will look worse here than he really is. Ratings compare him with goalies who have at least 10 starts over two seasons, or 2 this season.

How Edmonton’s goals are scored and allowed, against the league average, and how much of any difference luck alone could explain.

Every goal counts once, in the first of these that applies: empty net, power play, shorthanded, goalie pulled, then rebound, turnover, faceoff win, and everyday play. These mixes are mostly luck: over three seasons, teams’ goals came from much the same places, and most of the differences here didn’t last.