The Perfect Season: Five and Oh
Edmonton’s hockey team has set multiple records over the last few days. Yeah, you heard that right. They are the first team in NHL history with their fifth consecutive come-from-behind win to start the season. This is the third time they have won at least their first five games in an NHL season; they won their first 7 in 1983-84 and their first 5 in 1985-86. James Neal also set a record, an Edmonton record: Neal is the first player in Edmonton’s history to have six goals in their first three games.
What can be attributed to Edmonton’s early success? Surely, many fans are skeptical given the lack of stable success over the last decade or so. The systematic overhaul has been clear as day. Dave Tippett may have said it best when he talked about “everybody embracing their role.” One of the most memorable moments for me was when Edmonton were up 4-1 against New York. Edmonton’s 3rd or 4th line was on, I can’t recall. Edmonton’s coaching staff have been calling them 3A and 3B anyways, and while they are different lines, they have similar roles – to eat valuable ice time and not get scored on. If this is the case, then you can be confident that your first and second line, filled with superstars, will generally score more than they give up. The 3A or 3B line was on and they understood (or embraced) their role. They took the puck into New York’s zone and basically cycled it around in the corners for just over a minute. It was really something to watch. They understood that they did not need to go out and score a goal, they needed to eat time off the clock and protect the lead. Watching this was like poetry in motion, it brought a smile to my face. There are numerous examples of Edmonton players over the recent years that have been unable to wrap their mind around the “embracing their role” mindset. Like when Esa Tikknanen, who won four Stanley cups with Edmonton, called out Jesse Puljujärvi on twitter, saying that “[he] never really had it takes to make it in #Oilers. He is a very skilled player but in Edmonton you just need to have something more. Believe me, I know!!” This “something more” was certainly related to Jesse’s resistance to participate in certain roles on the team.
Edmonton’s depth, or lack thereof, has been criticized heavily over the past few years. The question I’ve always asked is: with such superstar talent on the top-end, how much support do you really need on the third and fourth line to have a successful team? I think we’re beginning to find our answer. Not only do you need a third and fourth line that eat valuable minutes in games, but you also need role players. Players that can find a meaningful role on the powerplay or penalty kill. Edmonton currently has a 94.1% chance of killing a penalty. Compare this to their 74.80% chance on the PK last year. This leaves Edmonton fans with one main question: did Edmonton’s existing penalty kill unit improve that much? From second worst in the league to second best? The more likely scenario is that, the personnel moves that Edmonton’s GM Ken Holland made, bringing in Riley Sheahan, Markus Granlund and Josh Archibald has helped the penalty kill immensely. Dave Tippett mentioned the importance of these role players: so that Edmonton can have guys outside of their top two lines killing penalties consistently, giving them the opportunity to put their top lines on directly after killing a penalty to regain momentum. What about the success found on Edmonton’s power play? They currently sit at 41.2% on the PP, another astronomical number. The simple answer would be James Neal. He has five of Edmonton’s seven powerplay goals, the other two belonging to Mcdavid. Another large point of critique that Edmonton’s hockey team has been subject to in recent years has been their lack of a good goal-scorer — one who sits in front of the net (collecting ‘garbage’ goals). The best comparison to this type of player would be Ryan Smyth. Smitty was a special talent who constantly picked up garbage goals in front of the net. James Neal has had a record-setting start to the year, but If he trails off slightly and becomes nothing more than a powerplay specialist, I’m sure that Edmonton fans will be able to live with that.
Isaac Lamoureux
Edmonton Journalist