These Edmonton Oilers players have stepped up big time without McDavid and Draisaitl
Losing both Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid to injury should have been disastrous for the Edmonton Oilers last weekend, but they more than survived.
Don’t be mistaken, not having two of the best players in the world in the lineup is still a major concern for this Oilers team. For the majority of their careers, stemming back to Draisaitl’s rookie season in 2014, the bulk of Oilers goals scored since then have had at least one 97 or 29 involved.
Secondary scoring has been an issue for quite a while in the Alberta capital and it remained one of their key problems this season as well. Yet, that seems to be changing over the last little while as a few players are starting to heat up in a big way.
That fact was on full display during Saturday night’s 5-4 victory over the Seattle Kraken, which featured a hat trick from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Nuge hatty 🥹 #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/Q6ZFNL3nRS
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) March 23, 2025
Nugent-Hopkins, the longest-tenured Oilers player on this team, is the easiest example to point to when it comes to increased scoring. He hasn’t had a great season so far and has looked invisible for long stretches despite playing premium minutes on McDavid’s wing.
However, ever since Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch switched him down to be Edmonton’s third-line centre, the Nuge has come alive. In his last three games, RNH has recorded four goals and nine points. To put that in perspective, Nugent-Hopkins had only 10 points in his previous 18 games before this hot streak.
That isn’t the only Oilers forward who has found a groove, as Jeff Skinner is finally looking like the shot-first sniper that Edmonton expected when they signed him over the summer. The 32-year-old has struggled to get into the lineup consistently this season but found a way to get promoted to the top line last week.
In the two games since the promotion, Skinner has three goals in two games and is playing his best hockey of the year.
Stay hot, Jeffrey 🥵 #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/JrTTMLijtm
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) March 23, 2025
Goals are also starting to come from players like Viktor Arvidsson, Adam Henrique, and, of course, Corey Perry down the lineup. It’s this type of production that the Oilers will need heading into the playoffs.
It’d be perfect for this trend to continue once McDavid and Draisaitl get back into action.