Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

Edmonton Oilers skating
Photo: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

People are liking 25 and 74 again, I think that’s nice.

In his last five starts, Stuart Skinner is 4-1 with a .947 SV% and a 1.40 GAA. Only citing these games seems like a cherry pick, as his overall stats still don’t look great this season. But what matters is they are trending in a better direction. Bob Stauffer pointed out during the second intermission that the pairing of Darnell Nurse and Brett Kulak, playing a minimum of 100 minutes, is in the top 8 for Expected Goals For. Via a tweet from Jason Gregor, Nurse has allowed the fewest goals of all Oilers defensemen with two since November 1st. He also has the lowest GA among all NHL D-men, the highest GF% (80%), and the lowest GA/60. I know he’s a whipping that everyone loves to pile on, but giving credit where it’s due is important. Just as Skinner, Evan Bouchard, and Zach Hyman have all done, Nurse has looked like a completely different player in the last month. I hope he keeps this up, as having two good pairings heading into the Trade Deadline and Playoffs could spell something interesting for this team.

It was impressive for Edmonton to win a tight 2-1 game against a very good opponent in the Lightning. They’ll bring their current three-game winning streak to one road game against a team historically hailed for tight defensive hockey but has become more offensive over the years. The keys to the game are…

Edmonton Oilers Thoughts

Visitor’s PTSD: Before the first meeting between these teams, I mentioned the Oilers’ all-time losing record against Minnesota. It’s just as bad on the road, 17-27-1-6, to be exact. They have to exercise these demons eventually. What better time to start than now, after winning six of your last seven games?

Bounces: When the Wild visited Edmonton a month ago, Leon Draisaitl scored a goal from his own team’s blueline thanks to Marc-Andre Fleury missing contact with the puck entirely. On Tuesday, Leon scored what would be a game-winning goal after Andrei Vasilevskiy made the save, but then he tried playing the puck out before it bounced past him off of Victor Hedman’s skate. Even the sport’s best players make mistakes once in a blue moon, so force tonight’s opponents to make more while avoiding them yourself.

Offend The Defenders: Edmonton has allowed just 2 powerplay goals in their last 14 games, while Minnesota has allowed 10 in that same span. The Oilers were 0/2 with the man advantage in the first meeting but scored three even-strength goals. The Wild have had great goaltending, but their penalty kill is a sore spot; they ranked 26th, according to ESPN. Our team’s isn’t much better, ranked 28th, but you also have to consider how it started compared to now. Hit the boring defensive team where it hurts, 5v4.

ITR 47: Then There Was Nothing Inside The Rink

Join Conrad and Chris as the discuss Gavin McKenna making the jump to the NCAA, Pittsburgh and San Jose making additions, and the NHL season to begin on October 7, 2025.
  1. ITR 47: Then There Was Nothing
  2. ITR 46: Offseason Chaos
  3. ITR 45: Everything Is Happening
  4. ITR 44: We Have A Champion…Again
  5. ITR 43: It's Winning Time


Discover more from Inside The Rink

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Stephen Vani

Oilers fan in Toronto. Staying up past my bedtime for Western games since the mid 2000s.

Leave a Reply

NHL Game Preview: Montreal Canadiens at Detroit Red Wings with Line Combinations 12/21/2024

Opinion: The Red Wings are Closer than You Think

By the time it was over, the 2023-24 season gave little hope to Red Wings fans. Montreal, Columbus and Ottawa all passed them in points this season, both Ottawa and Montreal broke the playoff barrier and ended their droughts. Fans and media alike deemed this offseason as one where the Red Wings needed to make […]

Read More
Ben Scrivens of the Edmonton Oilers

Ghosts Of Oilers Past: Ben Scrivens

With goaltending becoming a more humongous topic among Oilers fans than it already was prior to this season, why not have some fun and reminisce about one of the very few good highlights during the Decade of Darkness? The most historic performance by a goalie in the regular season happened on a team that, at […]

Read More
Utah Mammoth

Utah Mammoth 2025-26 Games To Watch

Year two of the Utah hockey experience begins in mere months, and the schedule is full of games from Central Division faceoffs to meetings with back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions and even rebuilding Eastern Conference contenders. NOV. 12th – vs Buffalo Sabres Easily able to be described as the biggest offseason move General Manager Bill Armstrong […]

Read More