Oilers

He arrived in late December, with the Oilers in a total free fall, and put up 26 points in 27 games on a line with Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The Oilers came to life and rose to second in the Pacific Division when the pandemic hit.

Yamamoto knows he’s in a good spot, and the best way to stay there is to keep producing. It’s a good example for a lot of undersized players because he finds a way to get it done. It’s one of the reasons he’s become such a popular linemate. He’s not a huge man but he plays with a big heart. “He’s been playing great,” said winger Zach Hyman. “He’s elevated his game. “You get in stretches like this throughout the course of the season when they’re going in and sometimes you get unlucky and they’re not. He’s willing to get his nose dirty to score a goal. He also has a really good skill level. At the net, his ability to finish that final pass has stood out to me. “If you look at where his goals are being scored, they’re in the red zone. It took him 17 games from the start of the season to get four goals. Yamamoto has seven points in the 4-0 stretch.

With other top teams making moves, the Oilers will likely have a quiet trade deadline after multiple players are returning from injury.

They will be covered on the power play and shorthanded and have more than enough players for every situation upfront. With the absence of Nugent-Hopkins, Kane has been a factor on the power play as well and given either McDavid or Draisaitl a legitimate scoring winger who can also protect them. Archibald bumps Tyler Benson down to the American Hockey League (AHL) but also brings a tenacious style of hockey for a smaller player who can be relied on defensively and add some more offence. They also have an impactful player in Evander Kane signed for cheap, and he won’t come that cheap next year if they try and re-sign him. He would be a short-term solution and cost a big haul to acquire. This spot may be the position that the Oilers are most likely to target before the trade deadline, depending on what is out there for a reasonable price. The Oilers were rumoured to be looking for a physical player to shore up their fourth line, but they have Kassian back and playing like the player he used to be, hitting everything in sight and adding a bit of offence. They have both been slotted in on the fourth line and create 2/3 of a high energy and physical line. This has and will continue to make it more difficult for the Oilers to convince players to join their team rather than another destination. They lead the league in man-games lost by defencemen and have gone through tough stretches relying on prospects to step up and fill the holes. The Oilers have gotten four everyday players back from injury in a short time, and one more is on the way within the next two weeks. Among the players who have recently returned, Jesse Puljujarvi, a top-six player, joined the Oilers for their last game after missing exactly a month.

It's big contrast to the Oilers six-game home stand in December when they lost the first five games.

“They’re just going in right now. You want to finish on the right foot.” “I can’t even remember back to that one, to be honest,” said defenceman Darnell Nurse. “I’m parking the past, living in the moment.

If the Edmonton Oilers were offered Jordan Binnington in a trade, should Ken Holland take it? The Blues may have actually called.

Jim is a daily must for readers who want to be “in the know.” Binnington certainly wouldn’t be the worst option for the Oilers. That said, there’s a lot to lose from the perspective of both teams. There’s no telling if that even moves the needle for St. Louis. It solves some of the Oilers’ salary cap concerns, and both Koskinen and Archibald have deals that expire, but the question of how badly the Blues really want to move Binnington remains. Moving Binnington is a risky play if the Blues decide to pull the trigger because it lowers their chances of playoff success if Husso struggles. The Blues are in the thick of a playoff race and it makes no sense to give Binnington away, even if the sole purpose of a move is to focus on a different netminder. Binnington makes $6 million per season for the next five seasons, but the reason the team wants to move him is so they can get Ville Husso signed to a long-term extension without having to spend upwards of $10 million on a goalie tandem.

The latest stats and milestones from around the NHL, featuring the Flames, Oilers, Predators, Capitals, Stars, Rangers, and more.

He is the first New York Rangers player to score 20 power-play goals in a season since Jaromir Jagr (2005-06). - Anders Lee is the second player for the New York Islanders to score in six consecutive games in the past 26 years. Giroux reached 1000 games in what may very well be his last game with the Flyers this year or his career, while Stamkos isn’t far behind him with the Tampa Bay Lightning. A few goaltenders have stepped up in Kallgren and Nedeljkovic, while Jarry continues his great season in goal. Tanner Jeannot is the second rookie in franchise history to score 20 goals in a season. Kreider is the 12th player since 1975-76 to record his first 40-goal season at age 30 or older. The Flames have won the second-most games in their history through 60 GP (37). The best to this point was in 1988-89 when they won 41 en route to their only Stanley Cup. - Alex Nedeljkovic recorded his fifth career shutout. Andrew Mangiapane is the fourth player in franchise history to record a 30-goal season after being drafted in the sixth round or later. Filip Forsberg is now tied with David Legwand for the franchise goals record with 210. Connor McDavid has recorded the 10th-most career multi-point games (201) before age 26. - Kirill Kaprizov has the fifth- most single season multi-goal games in franchise history (five). The most was by Marian Gaborik (10 in 2007-08). Kaprizov is the fourth player in franchise history to record 75 points in a season, joining Gaborik (83 in 2007-08), Brian Rolston (79 in 2005-06), and Eric Staal (76 in 2017-18). Kreider is the 25th player in franchise history to score 40 goals in a season.

As long as Woodcroft keeps them positioned for playoffs, you have to figure he's got the full-time job.

That’s not the end of the list. But if the Oilers show up with intent to start the games like they have, it can go a long way. They only managed to do it 12 times in their first 44 games. It goes beyond the standings. The Kings are four points up on the Oilers but Edmonton has two games in hand. The Oilers, with 21 games to go, have just hit the quarter pole.