Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers are rolling, and the early results under Mike Babcock have come with a little bit of everything: goals, pace, pushback and, maybe most encouraging of all, some real structure away from the puck.
Edmonton closed out a three-game trip through California with a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night, stretching its winning streak to five straight. The only stumble so far came in the opener at home, a 6-5 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks, followed by that wild 9-7 win over the same team. Since giving up 13 goals in those first two games, the Oilers have steadied themselves with four straight wins and only five goals allowed.
That turnaround has quickly changed the tone around a team that has too often lived on the edge defensively, even through back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Final in 2024-25. This time, the early signs suggest Babcock’s group is finding something more balanced.
“Honestly, it’s pretty impressive how we’re able to score and also play a really solid defensive game,” goalie Devon Levi said after Tuesday’s win over the Kings. “The message that [Babcock] is sending is that we have better, but if that’s our bad game, which was a great game, I think we’ll take that any day.”
The Oilers are tied with the Colorado Avalanche for the league lead in goals per game at 4.83, which is hardly a shock when Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are driving the offense. McDavid, the three-time Hart Trophy winner, added four points against Los Angeles and has 17 through six games, tops in the league. Draisaitl, who won the Hart in 2020, has been right there too, with the pair combining for 28 points so far.
“I notice I see a team that’s upbeat; I see a team that’s energetic, has speed, is aggressive and wins a lot of puck battles,” McDavid said after the win in Los Angeles. “Those are all great things, and if you do those things night after night, you’re going to put together some wins.”
And it’s not just the stars carrying the load. Defenceman Evan Bouchard has been off to a blistering start with six goals and 14 points, both best among NHL blueliners, while winger Vasily Podkolzin has chipped in seven goals and nine points.
For Edmonton, the bigger shift may be what’s happening behind the offense. The Oilers have ranked 11th or better in goals scored in each of the last seven seasons and have made the playoffs every year in that span. But defense has been the problem area, with the club finishing 10th or worse in goals allowed every season in that stretch and sinking to 25th at 3.23 per game last year.
That’s why this opening stretch matters. Some nights it’s been the defense doing the heavy lifting, as in a 3-1 win over San Jose when the Sharks managed only 19 shots.
Other nights it’s been the goaltending, including Levi stopping 39 of 40 against the Kings. Against Anaheim, Edmonton overcame a 2-0 first-period deficit, held the Ducks to 15 shots over the final two periods and buried them with five goals in the second.
“It’s always easy to crack a little bit, but when you believe in who you are and what you do, you can keep doing it night after night,” Babcock said after that 5-2 win over Anaheim last Wednesday. “And guys, we’re just getting started. We’re going to get a lot better, I promise you that.”
Draisaitl said after that game: “When you feel that you don’t have your legs,” Draisaitl said after the win over Anaheim. “You feel like you’re getting pushed into your own end by their speed a little bit - and we’re all men, we all want to be better, we want to be at our best - and I thought we pushed back hard and we did it the right way.”
The hot start stands in contrast to the way Edmonton has opened recent seasons. A year ago, the Oilers were 11-10-5 by the end of November before finishing 30-20-6 the rest of the way. Two seasons ago, they were 10-8-2 through 20 games and then went 38-21-3 from there.
Now the schedule brings them back home for Thursday’s game against the Utah Mammoth, with more help potentially on the way. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman and goaltender Frederik Andersen are all out with injuries, and Babcock thinks that could make this group even tougher to handle once they return.
“We’re going to start getting some players back, and we’re going to get way deeper and way harder to play against, and that’s a positive thing for us,” Babcock said.
“Life’s pretty good, so let’s get back to Edmonton, regroup, get a few bodies back and get playing.”
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Edmonton made the most of its chances, with Connor McDavid driving the night from the start and the Kings failing to cash in on their own opportunities. For a team trying to settle in under Peter Laviolette, the pattern is becoming familiar: good enough to create pressure, not good enough to turn it into points, and now five straight losses to open the season have left little margin for comfort. [Read more 🡒]