After a disastrous start to the season, the Edmonton Oilers are riding a hot stretch that has established them as legitimate contenders for the Stanley Cup.
The group that has disappointed in recent playoff runs looked like it was nearing a breaking point in October, as the Oilers opened the season on a miserable 2-9-1 stretch that fueled speculation of blow-it-all-up trades.
Their goaltenders couldn't make saves. Their defense couldn't do anything to prevent high quality chances against, and their trademark offensive punch led by two of the game's top five players in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl simply was not there.
Everything that could go wrong did go wrong, and the pre-season Stanley Cup favorites looked headed for total disaster in a pivotal season in their window of contention.
Then everything changed.
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Stuart Skinner's Emergence as Edmonton's Goalie
Goaltender Stuart Skinner turned heads last season with an impressive effort to start the year, but the young goaltender faltered a bit down the stretch and in the playoffs, leaving the Oilers with a question mark in goal for yet another season.
Those questions looked prescient early, as in eight games from the start of the season to November 10, Skinner put up a putrid save percentage of .854 to go with a 3.87 goals against average.
Veteran Jack Campbell was even worse, forcing Skinner into further action even as he floundered. Since then, he's flourished.
Skinner currently owns a 2.49 GAA and a .908 SV%, having put up an outstanding .924 since November 11 to fully right the ship.
The Oilers' Historic Winning Streak
Edmonton is currently in the midst of a 14-game winning streak, a run of success that is unheard of in recent NHL history. Since 1993, only the 2012-2013 Penguins and 2016-2017 Columbus Blue Jackets have gone on longer runs.
No Canadian franchise had ever won more than 12 in a row since the Oilers hit this run. The group has not lost since December 19, marking well over a full calendar month since their last defeat.
Everything has gone right since. McDavid has gotten going, with 19 points over the 14 games. The encouraging thing about this for Edmonton is that while that is strong production, it's not all that close to McDavid at his very best. The fact that they're winning with support scoring, defense, and strong goaltending is what really should have people believing in the Oilers.
Veteran defenseman Mattias Ekholm was seen as a brilliant acquisition at last year's trade deadline, and he has been outstanding alongside young superstar Evan Bouchard on the back end.
In the McDavid era and for many years before it, the Oilers have never seen performance this strong from a single defenseman let alone both halves of a pair.
The bottom of the unit is a bit of a weak point, but Edmonton's top-end talent throughout the roster, now that there's actually some of it on defense, could be more than enough to fuel a playoff run that could make it into June.
The Oilers are three games away from tying the record for the longest winning streak in NHL history. To get there, they will have to go through the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators at home. They'll be heavy favorites in both games, and if they win them, it would set up a matchup with history on the line, on the road at the reigning Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights after the All-Star break.
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