Great Teams have Good Depth: The Oilers’ role players are stepping up

Hands up if you had Calvin Pickard going 6-0?

Vasily Podkolzin scoring six points in eight games, while playing 9:49/game?

Connor Brown scoring four goals in eight games?

Mattias Janmark centring a fourth line, scoring two goals and dominating the opposition 5×5?

John Klingberg moving around the ice efficiently with deft passes and only being on the ice for two goals against in 137 minutes at even strength?

Jake Walman outscoring the opposition 17-6 at even strength?

Corey Perry, at age 39, scoring three goals in eight games while having a 58 SF% and 63.4 GF%?

Evander Kane returning after a 10-month hiatus and scoring three goals in seven games?

Trent Frederic adding size and speed, chipping in with a key goal and along with Kane, giving the Oilers a much-needed boost physically?

Every Oilers player has performed well, and the depth players are a main reason the Oilers have set an NHL record for six consecutive come-from-behind victories. They return to Edmonton leading Vegas 2-0 with a chance to make this a short series.

The Oilers’ big guns have still produced with Leon Draisaitl and McDavid combining for the overtime winner last night, and each had two points in Game 1, but the supporting cast members have been the drivers, especially over the past four games.

Pickard is making timely saves. His overall stats won’t jump out at you, but he’s a battler and he’s making key stops at key times. In the playoffs, winning is all that matters. Corsi, Fenwick, expected goals, Sv% mean virtually nothing. Some might disagree, but the W is the most important stat. Win pretty. Win ugly. Win with luck. It doesn’t matter, as long as you win — and Pickard is 6-0. His .888 sv% is meaningless at this point. One stat never tells the full story, as Pickard finished last night with an .875 sv% and allowed four goals. Most don’t, nor should they, care about his Sv% because he made some key saves to keep his team in the game. His career arc makes him a great underdog story for Oilers fans to cheer for. He’s undersized, but he battles and he’s having the time of his life.

Podkolzin has been incredible in his limited minutes. He’s averaging only 9:46/game, but he has six points, all at even strength, which puts him among the top 2o player scorers in EV points. His on-ice numbers at 5×5 are great, with a great shot and goal share of 40-22 (SF-SA) and 5-1 (GF-GA) and he’s been great on the forecheck.

Brown has been a force all playoffs. He’s carrying the puck with confidence all over the ice. He’s been excellent on back presser stripping pucks, and he’s got four goals in eight playoff games. His goal in Game 1, where he blew by Shea Theodore and then beat Adin Hill with a well-placed shot above the pad, had him looking like another Connor. He, along with Adam Henrique and Trent Frederic have found chemistry and they’ve chipped in some key goals, while also having many momentum-building shifts.

Janmark has elevated his game for the playoffs — again. He’s excellent on the forecheck and creating turnovers from pressure. He’s scored twice. He’s also sneaky dirty. He, along with Podkolzin and Viktor Arvidsson are relentless on the forecheck, good on the cycle and they are in every battle. Janmark is sticking guys after the whistle, stopping hard in front of Hill and it seems every shift they create momentum.

Klingberg has been a revelation. He looks like a completely different player than the one we saw in the regular season. He’s moving very well, especially laterally, and his poise, patience and precision with the puck has allowed the Oilers to breakout of their zone much quicker and easier. His outlet passes led directly to Perry and Zach Hyman’s goals in Game 1, and while he didn’t get an assist on either he was instrumental in the goals.

Walman ripped his first career playoff goal last night. He leads the NHL at +11, and his GF-GA at EV is 17-6. He’s strong in battles and along the boards. He’s taken many of Mattias Ekholm’s minutes and played extremely well. Give GM Stan Bowman credit for acquiring Klingberg and Walman. They’ve been excellent additions and a huge reason the Oilers are up 2-o in the series.

Perry’s gamesmanship and smarts with the puck continue to surprise. He surpassed everyone’s expectations with 19 goals in the regular season, and even though the pace of play has picked up, Perry is continuing to produce with three goals in eight games. He’s always around the net and when he gets the puck in tight, he’s still a legit threat. He’s now ninth all time in games played in the playoffs with 223. He could end this postseason in third place and pass Glenn Anderson (225), Larry Robinson (227), Guy Carbonneau (231), Scott Stevens (233), Claude Lemieux (234) and Mark Messier (236). He isn’t just playing in these games — he’s making contributions regularly.

Kane hadn’t played a game in over 10 months, and he’s jumped into the hardest part of the season without missing a beat. He has three goals in seven games. His size, speed and physicality were much needed against Vegas, and he has 10 hits in the first two games. He also adds an on-ice arrogance that the team needs. He’s involved in every scrum when he’s on the ice, and he gives the team energy.

Frederic also has 10 hits this series. He’s looking better each game as he continues to recover from the high ankle sprain. He’s got good hands and has been around the puck a lot. He’s been a great fit with Henrique and Brown as all three have different styles. He’s also been perfect in the faceoff dot this series and won some key defensive zone draws.

BEST DEPTH…

This is easily the deepest team we’ve seen in Edmonton in a long, long time. The Oilers’ forwards scored the most goals in the first round, and 11 of 12 forwards had a goal. The big guns are still scoring, but the Oilers aren’t relying on them to carry the team to victory. In fact, the big guns are shooting blanks in five road playoff games on the PP, going 0-for-12, including going scoreless on the five-minute major in OT last night.

Here’s a look at scoring in the first round. It lists how many forwards scored one goal (total number of goals), how many forwards had multiple goals, how many D-men scored (and total goals) and then the team’s goal totals.

Teams in blue won their series. With Podkolzin scoring last night, all 12 forwards now have at least one goal. Vegas has 10 while Dallas and Winnipeg have nine. The Oilers are also tied with Florida and Toronto for most goals by defencemen with seven.

What’s most impressive about the Oilers’ forwards is they only have three PP goals thus far. This team is not relying on the man advantage, although it would be nice for the PP to wake up on the road. And the PK needs to improve on the road as well, as it is only 55% thus far. The Oilers’ special teams are a combined 55% on the road, which is wild, considering they are 3-2. Their 5×5 play is winning them games, especially on the road.

Edmonton is 83.3% (5-for-6) at home on the man advantage, which is why their overall PP% is still good. Edmonton was unable to capitalize on Nicolas Roy’s major in overtime, and when you combine that with the two giveaways by Alex Pietrangelo that led to a crossbar from Zach Hyman and a goalpost from McDavid, if there is one area Edmonton can improve on in Game 3, it would be taking advantage of great opportunities.

The Oilers are playing very well, and after winning a game where they were the second-best team on the ice, they have a fantastic opportunity to push Vegas to the brink of elimination.

And they should feel very confident they can, because so many players are contributing. Great teams need more than a few great players. They need a bit of luck, good health and a group of players capable of contributing offensively and defensively.

The Oilers have all of that.

Now they need to put away a Vegas team that is reeling. Vegas just played a good game, but didn’t win. Those losses are harder to overcome in a seven-game series.