Connor McDavid didn’t need much time to explain why the Oilers look so sharp out of the gate. After Edmonton wrapped up a 4-1 win over the LA Kings on Tuesday night, he pointed to a group that looks faster, more connected, and more willing to do the dirty work.
“I see a team that’s upbeat, I see a team that’s energetic, that’s got speed,” McDavid told reporters. “It’s aggressive, wins a lot of puck battles; those are all great things, and you do those night after night, you’re going to put together some wins.”
That win finished off a perfect three-game swing through California, with Edmonton beating the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, and Kings in order. It also kept the Oilers in rare territory: they’re now 5-0-1, the only team in the NHL without a regulation loss, and it’s the first time since the 1984-85 season that Edmonton has opened this way.
Tuesday’s result came in a game where the shot clock told one story and the scoreboard told another. The Kings fired 40 shots at Edmonton’s net to the Oilers’ 16, but the visitors still walked out with a convincing victory.
A big reason for that was Devon Levi, who kept turning aside chances all night and finished with 39 saves on 40 shots. McDavid praised the young goalie’s steady presence afterward.
“He’s been great, honestly. Just such a calming presence in there,” McDavid said of Levi.
“Makes the big saves, seems to make timely saves, which is half the battle with goaltending. He’s been really solid for us; we can be a little bit better in front of him for sure.”
McDavid has done plenty of heavy lifting himself. Through six games, he has 17 points, the best start of his career and the highest total in the NHL. On Tuesday, while skating in his 800th career game, he added a goal and three assists to the pile.
He’s also getting strong support from the rest of Edmonton’s top group. Leon Draisaitl has 11 points, and Vasily Podkolzin is one off the league lead in goals with seven through six games.
The Oilers haven’t kept McDavid and Draisaitl together this much very often lately, but he said the extended run has been a good thing.
“It’s been fun, obviously. Leon is one of the best players in the world a lot of nights,” McDavid said. “To be able to play with him and [Podkolzin], [Bouchard] a lot of shifts with [Ekholm], it’s a fun unit to be out there with.
“To get a nice string of games together to kind of build a little bit of chemistry and work on things, it’s been a lot of fun.”
With all the talk entering the season about McDavid’s future and the pressure on Edmonton to finally push through, the first box has clearly been checked: the Oilers got rolling.
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Oilers May Have Pulled Off Two Steals And One Looks Even Bigger
The early returns on Edmontons recent trade work have been hard to ignore, especially with Vasily Podkolzin giving the forward group a burst the Oilers could use. He has scored seven goals in six games and already looks like the kind of addition that can push deeper into the lineup over time, not just fill a spot in the middle six. For a team that has opened the season with a strong record, those kinds of quick returns can make a front office look awfully sharp.
Devon Levi has added a different kind of value in goal, staying undefeated and turning in impressive numbers in his recent starts. His arrival gave Edmonton another option in a position where stability always matters, and the fact that both moves are paying off at once has only raised the profile of the deals. One looks like a timely boost, the other may be starting to feel like a bigger swing altogether, which is exactly the sort of outcome the Oilers were hoping for. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Keep Winning But This Latest Escape Raises A Real Debate
The Oilers kept their unbeaten run rolling with a 4-1 win over the Kings, moving to 5-0-1 and remaining the NHLs only team without a regulation loss. Leon Draisaitl helped drive the offense, Vasily Podkolzin scored twice, and Connor McDavid piled up four assists in his 800th game, another reminder that Edmonton can still tilt a night its way even when the shot totals say otherwise.
Devon Levi may have been the biggest reason it all held together. He turned aside 39 of 40 shots while Edmonton spent long stretches defending rather than dictating, which only sharpened the conversation around how sustainable this start really is. The wins are piling up, but the formula has looked different enough each night that the Oilers early-season success now comes with a lingering question about what happens when the margin for error finally shrinks. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Face A Goaltending Decision That Could Define Their Season
Early in the season, the Oilers are already staring at a familiar but urgent problem in net, with Tristan Jarry, Frederik Andersen and Devon Levi all under scrutiny as the club tries to steady the position. It is the kind of issue that can quietly shape everything around it, from the way Edmonton manages its games to how much pressure lands on the skaters in front of the crease.
The market for a fix looks complicated. Connor Hellebuyck, Sam Montembeault, Jordan Binnington and Adin Hill all surface as possible answers, but each comes with real obstacles tied to contract status, performance concerns or the sheer difficulty of prying a goalie loose. For now, Edmonton may be left weighing whether the cleanest move is no move at all, and simply hoping one of its current options settles in before the season gets away from it. [Read more 🡒]