These importance statistics explain the Oilers poor start

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Will Bloggs
October 15, 2024 (9:45)

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The Edmonton Oilers are off to another slow start in the 2024-25 season and it looks a lot like what happened last season.

This season, they've been outscored 15-3 in their first three games, including a 6-0 defeat to the Winnipeg Jets and followed by losses to the Chicago Blackhawks (5-2) and Calgary Flames (4-1). Their early struggles can be traced to poor shooting and goaltending with a league-low 3.2% shooting percentage and a 78.3% save percentage which put them as the second-worst in the NHL.

However the Edmonton Oilers expected goals metrics suggest they are not being completely outplayed territorially. They have been generating scoring chances but their inability to finish has not helped their issues to win. The extreme shooting and goaltending numbers indicate that some of these struggles may be due to poor puck luck which should improve over time.

A more pressing concern for the Oilers is the disparity in performance between their defensive pairings. The top pairing of Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard has been solid and benefiting from playing alongside Connor McDavid's high-powered offensive line. On the other end, the second pairing of Darnell Nurse and Travis Dermott has struggled while facing tougher matchups with middle-six forwards like Adam Henrique and Mattias Janmark. This pairing has been outscored and creating defensive vulnerabilities that are difficult to overlook.

While the Oilers are likely to improve as their shooting and goaltending numbers normalize they need to address the issues with their second defensive pairing.

Source: TSN
The numbers behind another slow start for the Oilers