As we move past the
Anaheim Ducks and the
Calgary Flames number three on our season previews of the Pacific Division opponents for the Kings is the emerging Edmonton Oilers.
Maybe best remembered by Kings fans in 2012-13 for the
infamous slide of Nail Yakupov (which I had no problem with by the by), the Oilers should be a challenging addition to an already competitive Pacific Division in 2013-14. Last year may have been the penultimate season in the learning curve of the Oilers who suffered through highs and lows only to miss the playoffs at the end of the season yet again. They made a lot of offseason moves and there are a lot of talking points to get to, so let's fire it up.
2012-13 Record
19-22-7 (12th in the Western Conference, 24th in the NHL)
9-11-4 Home, 10-11-3 Away
Failed to make the playoffs
Top-5 scorers in 2012-13
Taylor Hall - 45gp - 16g - 34a - 50p - plus-5
Sam Gagner - 48gp - 14g - 24a - 38p - minus-6
Jordan Eberle - 48gp - 16g - 21a - 37p - minus-4
Nail Yakupov - 48gp - 17g - 14a - 31p - minus-4
Justin Schultz - 48gp - 8g - 19a - 27p - minus-17
Goaltender stats
Devan Dubnyk - 38gp (14-16-7), .920 Sv%, 2.57 GAA 2 shutouts
Nikolai Khabibulin - 12gp (4-6-1), .923 Sv%, 2.54 GAA 1 shutout
Team Stats
Goals for per game - 2.56 (18th in the NHL)
Goals against per game - 2.73 (19th)
Powerplay - 20.1% (8th)
Penalty Kill - 83.4% (9th)
Hits - 1060 (21st)
Faceoff % - 46.1 (30th)
Additions/Subtractions
OUT
Shawn Horcoff (DAL)
Magnus Paajarvi (STL)
Mark Fistric (ANA)
Theo Peckham (CHI)
Nikolai Khabibulin (CHI)
Yann Danis (PHI)
Ryan Whitney (FA)
Eric Belanger (Compliance Buyout)
IN
Philip Larsen (DAL)
David Perron (STL)
Denis Grebeshkov (HC Yugra-KHL)
Richard Bachman (DAL)
Ryan Hamilton (TOR)
Jesse Joensu (NYI)
Andrew Ference (BOS)
Jason Labarbera (PHX)
Boyd Gordon (PHX)
Anton Belov (Avangard Omsk-KHL)
2012-13 vs. Kings
Record: 1-2-0
Goals for/against - 4/8
Leading scorers: Sam Gagner, (2g, 1a, 3p), Justin Schultz (0g, 3a, 3p), Nail Yakupov (1g, 1a, 2p and a slide), Taylor Hall (0g, 2a, 2p)
Goaltenders - Devan Dubnyk (2gp, 1-1, .942 SV%, 2.01 GAA) Nikolai Khabibulin (0-1, .940SV%, 2.02 GAA)
2012-13 King stats vs. Oilers
Jeff Carter - 3gp - 3g, 1a, 4p plus-4
Drew Doughty - 3gp - 1g, 1a, 2p, plus-3
Jarret Stoll - 3gp - 1g, 1a, 2p, Even
Trevor Lewis - 3gp - 0g, 2a, 2p, plus-3
Slava Voynov - 3gp - 1g, 0a, 1p, plus-2
Goaltending
Jonathan Quick - 3gp, .954 SV%, 1.31 GAA
Results
LAK W @EDM 3-1
LAK OTL @ EDM 1-2
LAK W @ LA 4-1
Analysis
Despite missing the playoffs for the 7th straight year in 2012-13, the Edmonton Oilers in my eyes were not a bad team by any stretch of the imagination. They took positive steps in almost every direction from the previous years. For the first time since 2008-09 the Oilers finished outside of the bottom five in the league standings and had positive trends in a number of statistical categories including goals against and special teams (Which both PK and PP were both top 10). As a whole they trended from pretty miserable in a majority of stats the previous year to good or just about average in 2012-13. They got huge contributions from rookies like Nail Yakupov and Justin Schultz, and those two will only continue to grow and get better. Despite being the target of many questions and criticisms, Devan Dubnyk finished the year with a respectable .920 SV% while facing the 2nd most shots in the league a night on average. He played incredibly well against the Kings to boot putting up a .942 SV% in the two games he faced them.
So where did it go wrong for the Oilers last season? First off, the Oilers were incredibly streaky, which you could accredit to the youth of the team. They manhandled the Vancouver Canucks last season (3-2) at times, as well as challenged playoff teams like Chicago, LA, Minnesota, Detroit and Phoenix, dropping many tight games in overtime to very talented squads. However they couldn't ever build off big wins and would find themselves behind the 8-ball against lesser teams or on the wrong sides of losing streaks. Twice they went into slumps, once in early March and once in early April, where they only one 3 out of 10 games. Ultimately those streaks decided the 2012-13 fate of the Oilers. They also had one of the worst home records in the NHL with 9 wins coming inside Rexall Place.
Also despite having some of the brightest and most intriguing offensive names in the game like Taylor Hall, Nail Yakupov, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle, the Oilers quite simply did not score enough. Their 2.56 goals per game put them at a surprising 18th in the league. They also were abysmal in faceoffs coming in dead last at 46.1-percent.
Despite all the negatives that you could look at, the statistics and the play of the young Oilers was not egregious. It was, at worst, an inexperienced and young team trying to find out how to play NHL hockey. Five of the teams most coveted stars are still 23 or younger (Hall, Eberle, RNH, Schultz, Yakupov.) and they've added some really fantastic pieces in the offseason. The pick ups of Perron, Grebeshkov, Larsen, Ference and Boyd Gordon are going to help them in almost every statistical category they lacked in as well as bringing experience to the squad. Boyd Gordon in particular is a very underrated pick up considering he has been consistently one of the best faceoff men in the league several years running, and gives the Oilers a clutch defensive zone and PK centerman at the dot. Even additions like Joensu and Belov, while minor, are going to add depth to the team. Devan Dubnyk is going to need a big year as well and build on what was in my opinion a very solid and noteworthy 2012-13. Also I have to give a hand to newly appointed GM Craig MacTavish in drafting Darnell Nurse with his first selection. In my opinion that was a home run. Nurse is the panacea to a system that hans't seen a quality defensive prospect develop since Matt Greene or Jeff Petry (I know Klefbom is coming).
Rebuilding is a very tough process, and the Edmonton Oilers fans and organization have felt the growing pains in many ways for a long time now. Things are on the upswing though. Similar arcs were seen in rebuilding squads like the Kings and the Penguins whom had many seasons of young mediocrity before breaking the playoff wall so to speak. It's going to be very difficult this year in a loaded Pacific Division, but Edmonton is penciled in as my sleeper to make the playoffs. However that means they are going to have to bump one of Anaheim, Phoenix, San Jose, LA or Vancouver out of contention. It's a tall order, but the young and exciting Oilers made a bunch of quality off-season moves and look poised to be in the conversation now at the least. It might be another year before they make the post-season, but I'd definitely keep them on the radar as perhaps the New York Islanders of 2013-14.
Scheduled Games
@Los Angeles Oct. 27th
@Los Angeles Dec 17th
@Edmonton Mar. 9th
@Edmonton Apr. 10th
Follow Jason on twitter @SirJDL, he's so hot right now. 
Los Angeles Kings Blogger • 
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