Oilers' penalty kill has seen MASSIVE improvement under Knoblauch
The Edmonton Oilers are rolling with three straight wins, and their penalty kill deserves a lot of credit.
Through the first month or so of the season, nothing was clicking for the team. Goaltending was substandard and the team wasn’t defending at an NHL level. Their penalty kill under former coach Jay Woodcroft was no different, with a dismal 70% success rate. If the Oilers took a penalty, there was a 30% chance the opponent would be scoring, which is not a recipe for success in the NHL.
However, once the team decided to move from Woodcroft in favour of Kris Knoblauch, things started to change.
Since November 13, the Oilers’ penalty kill success rate has risen from 70% all the way up to 91%, killing 31 of the 34 penalties they have taken since Knoblauch stepped behind the bench.
“The PK has been great,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid told reporters following Tuesday night’s win against the Vegas Golden Knights. “Really, really, really solid keeping us in games and I think it’s a credit to those guys who are doing it.”
"We will take wins any way we can get them."
Connor McDavid speaks after a 5-4 shootout victory over Vegas. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/DFX7FGPT3E
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 29, 2023
The group of players contributing to the renewed PK is a mix of the team’s premier and depth players. According to analytics site Natural Stat Trick (NST), defenceman Darnell Nurse has had the most ice time on the kill since Knoblauch took over with 29:43. During that time, the 28-year-old has been on the ice for just two goals against and one goal for, which is not that bad.
For the forwards, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is leading the way with 19:43 spent killing penalties. He has been on the ice for one goal-for and two against as well. One of the team’s more underrated killers, however, has been Ryan McLeod.
McLeod has spent 18:07 killing penalties under Knoblauch and has a high-danger chances-for percentage (HDCF%) of 66.67, which indicates he is generating more chances for the Oilers while killing penalties than he is allowing.
“I find the best teams typically have good penalty kills,” Knoblauch told reporters on Tuesday night. “Right now, the last three games, I thought we have done a pretty good job of that and we have to continue doing that.”
Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm also contributes significantly to the PK’s success. He is third on the team in ice time on the kill with 23:34 and also has a positive HDCF% of 62.50. From where he stands, it’s a matter of the team starting to get good at managing the little things.
“I think we’re in sync,” Ekholm told reporters on Tuesday night. “We’re better at the entries I think that’s a big part of it. I think we are pressuring teams more to make plays and then obviously the best penalty-killer on every team has to be your goaltender and [Stuart Skinner] has been, so that’s a big factor as well.
“I think there is a bunch of little things that make the big picture better.”
"There’s a lot of things to like about our game right now."
Mattias Ekholm on the #Oilers third win in a row. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/kLdslatdTu
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 29, 2023
Edmonton was perfect on the kill against Vegas, going a perfect 5/5 on the night. Over the last four games, the Oilers have killed all 18 penalties that they have taken.