Edmonton Oilers: How They Can Fix Power-Play Woes
The Edmonton Oilers may be off to a great start to begin the 2016-17 season, but there are some areas where improvements must be made.
One of those is on the power-play. So far this season, the Oilers have 14.6 percent success on the man advantage. That’s the 10th-worst in the NHL, and in Sunday’s loss, they went 0-for-4 on the power-play. If they want to continue winning hockey games, they must make most of the power play.
When it comes to drawing penalties, Edmonton is doing just fine. Connor McDavid does a good job of hustling and creating situations in which the Oilers come out on the man advantage. However, beyond that, the Oilers need to upgrade their power-play set-up.
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Put Big Bodies in Front
The Oilers have an arsenal of big bodies, starting with Milan Lucic. He needs to be in front of the goaltender, screening him and trying to deflect the puck. Patrick Maroon and Zack Kassian would also be suitors for this role. With Kassian’s success and hustle of late, the Oilers could definitely benefit from giving him minutes.
If Edmonton does this, they can get more pucks to the net and make things more difficult for the defense to deal with. Not to mention, if they can get these bodies in front, they can catch rebounds and pucks that come to the net.
Change up the Point
Right now, the Oilers have Andrej Sekera and Jordan Eberle on the backend in the first power-play unit. While it’s smart to have four forwards on the ice, it’s not working for Edmonton. Given Eberle doesn’t have a booming shot, there is not a lot more reason as to why he’s back there.
If Edmonton wants to succeed, they need to put guys back there with a rocket of a shot. This means grabbing someone like Oscar Klefbom or even Adam Larsson. Larsson has a heavily underrated shot, and he could be a secret weapon to have on the power-play.
Keep the Puck in the Zone
McDavid knows how to set up a play, but when it comes to keeping the puck in the zone, the Oilers struggle. Therefore, they need to guard the blueline, and this also supports the notion of having two defensemen on the first unit. If the Oilers have insurance back there, and two players aware of maintaining possession, they will get more chances and have more opportunities to score.
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