April 11, 2023 by Josh Boulton

What is it about the Edmonton Oilers that makes them so good? It can’t just be chalked up to luck any longer. The Oilers have the highest winning percentage in the entire NHL since January 11 at .789.

That’s too dominating over too long of a stretch to be lucky, so there’s only three viable options to explain it. One is that the best player in the world in Connor McDavid carrying the team on his back, and everyone else is along for the ride. The second is that the Oilers are a complete team with the right pieces all in, or close to their respective primes. The third is the most fun: they’re a team of destiny. There’s a case to be made for all three.

Maybe it really is just the McDavid effect. He’s definitely blowing the NHL out of the water right now at 151 points and counting. That’s 27points ahead of the NHL’s second highest point getter and his teammate, Leon Draisaitl, and an almost unfathomable 40 points ahead of the next player not wearing an Oilers uniform.

It wasn’t that long ago in 2015-16, where Taylor Hall led the Oilers in points with 65. The season before that, Jordan Eberle led the team with 63 points. There’s been at least one 100-point scorer on the Oilers in the seven seasons since, and in six of those years McDavid has been one of them. So has he been the the biggest contributor to the team’s success during that time? That is abundantly clear.

On the other hand, let’s not overlook the fact that the 2022-23 Oilers are the first franchise to have three 100-point players in the same season since the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995-96. Along with McDavid and Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins reached the 100-point mark for the first time in his career on April 5. Nugent-Hopkins has amassed 34 points more than his previous career high of 69 in 2019-20. That’s at least two players doing more than just coming along for the McDavid ride, and there is also a fourth.

Zach Hyman deserves a mention for his own personal evolution over 77 games. He’s sitting on 80 points, which is a 26-point jump from last year’s 54. Hyman will very likely get to 84 points and join Nugent-Hopkins in the 30 point improvement club.

More impressively, with one more goal he’ll give Edmonton it’s fourth 35-goal scorer of the season. That would be the first time that’s happened for the Oilers since 1987-88, and I believe it would be the first time in the NHL since those remarkable 1995-96 Penguins.

Related: Oilers are out to prove the hockey world wrong

Other players putting up career best numbers alongside McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins, and Hyman are Darnell Nurse and Ryan McLeod. Evan Bouchard is only five points shy of surpassing his totals in 2021-22 with two games to go, and Warren Foegele is just three points back of his career mark.

With Klim Kostin and Vincent Desharnais becoming regulars in the lineup, and the additions of Nick Bjugstad and Matias Ekholm, it’s possible this is the deepest Oilers team in three decades. Calling the Oilers a complete team shouldn’t earn you the looks, but for some reason, it still does, no matter how many players excel.

That’s why I believe it’s the third option – this is a team of destiny. The hockey gods are with them. As evidence of that, I turn to their goaltending. It’s no secret Jack Campbell has not been the answer the Oilers were looking for between the pipes. Campbell currently sits 89th in the NHL in save percentage at .886. Comparatively, all-star rookie netminder Stuart Skinner has a save percentage of .911, good for 16th in the league.

Skinner is one of the main reasons the Oilers have even made the playoffs, let alone stayed in the hunt for the Pacific Division title, neigh, the Western Conference title. Still, the Oilers boast two goaltenders with 20 wins each for the first time since Grant Fuhr and Andy Moog 1986-87.

Skinner ranks among top-20 in save percentage and is also 10th in wins with 27. Campbell is a full 73 spots down the chart in save percentage, but he’s tied for 24th in wins with 21. The Oilers have 48 wins, and this alleged waste of a roster spot and $5 million unplaying backup goalie.

Can McDavid lay claim to willing his club to all 46 of those victories? Did this roster’s depth simply outscore the opponent that many times in free-for-alls? I don’t think so. I think this is a combination of Campbell being better than some think he is, with a little intervention of fate.

Luck can only carry you for so long. A great talent, even a generational one, can alone only carry you so far. Surround that talent with help and you have a top-10 NHL team. Sprinkle in a little destiny, and the sky is the limit.