Edmonton Oilers season preview
After losing to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions in back-to-back postseasons, the Edmonton Oilers could be the team to beat in the Western Conference this year. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl continue to get more and more dangerous each season, but they need the rest of the group to help get them over the hump. They finished two points shy of the Vegas Golden Knights to win the Pacific Division last season, but this year, they are my pick to win it.
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Offense
Scoring goals is the least of the Oilers’ concerns. McDavid led the league in scoring for the third straight season (153 points) and Draisaitl was right there behind him (128 points). They are clearly the league’s most dangerous dynamic duo, but the Oilers actually had some other key contributors last season, like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who put up 104 points, and Zach Hyman, who tallied 83 points.
Their power play is the most dangerous weapon in the repertoire, finishing with an incredible 32.4% success rate in the regular season and skating to a 46.1% conversion rate in the postseason. What they’re able to do on the man-advantage is absolutely ridiculous. The offense will once again be reliable for Edmonton, and I don’t see anyone having more points than McDavid for the fourth straight year.