Edmonton Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft shared some great insights in his media availability after their pre-season win against the Vancouver Canucks.
It's no secret that the Edmonton Oilers are an offence first type of team. They led the league last season in goals (325) and were sixth in shots for per game (33.6). Combine that with their record breaking 32.4% conversion rate on the power play - and it's easy to see how offence isn't the weak link in their game.
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The Oilers are just over a week into their training camp sessions and there has been an unsurprising focus - defence. Improving their defence will help in every other area of game, and increase their chances of winning every night.
Darnell Nurse defends against Calgary Flames player.At the beginning of training camp Evander Kane spoke to the media about different defensive systems that were being implemented. He didn't go into detail at the time, but they have changed their neutral zone formation.
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Head coach Jay Woodcroft highlighted the importance of starting training camp off with a focus on defence - and that's exactly what they've done. On day one they began implementing a 1-1-3 neutral zone formation. This formation allows them to apply pressure on the opposing puck carrier - and force them to the side of the ice they want them to go. The "3" players hold the blue line in this configuration to slow down the rush of opposing teams and force dump ins.
Connor McDavid defends against Sidney Crosby.This is an amazing addition to the Oilers' overall strategy. The NHL is getting faster and faster every year and defending against rush attacks is paramount. A great way to defend against it is to prevent more rushes.
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Another aspect of this focus on defence has come in the form of shot suppression. This is important because the Oilers allowed (on average) 31.37 shots against per game last season. In their last pre-season game against the Vancouver Canucks they only allowed 22 shots.
Connor Brown protects the puck from Quinn Hughes.It is pre-season, so I wouldn't expect them to maintain that kind of shot suppression during the regular season. The top three teams in allowing the least shots on goal per game last season were the Carolina Hurricanes (26), Seattle Kraken (27) and the Calgary Flames (27.3). Two of those three teams made it through at least one round in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
If they can get their shots against per game down from 31 to 27, it would be an incredible improvement for the team. It decreases the work load on their goaltenders and sets them up to succeed every night.
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