The Edmonton Oilers’ journey to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2024 has been marked by an exceptional performance on special teams. Throughout 18 playoff games, the Oilers have maintained an even goal differential at even strength, with 40 goals scored and 40 allowed. While this might not seem like a winning strategy—historically, Stanley Cup champions have outscored their opponents by a significant margin at even strength—the Oilers have excelled in special teams play, which has made all the difference.
The Oilers have scored an impressive 19 powerplay goals while allowing just 3, achieving a dominant 20-3 advantage in powe play and shorthanded situations. This dominance has been a consistent factor in their success across three playoff series.
In their first series against the Los Angeles Kings, the Oilers scored 9 powerplay goals and did not allow a single powerplay goal from the Kings. This special teams performance accounted for their entire goal differential in a series that was otherwise closely contested at even strength. Notably, in three of the games, the Oilers’ special teams were responsible for the margin of victory, with their powerplay unit often delivering critical goals.
Against the Vancouver Canucks in the second round, the series was highly competitive, but the Oilers’ special teams once again proved crucial. After a back-and-forth series, the Oilers secured a decisive Game 6 victory with all their goals scored at even strength. In Game 7, their powerplay came through with a key goal from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, which turned out to be the game-winner.
In the Conference Finals against the Dallas Stars, the Oilers lost the even-strength battle by a single goal but excelled on special teams. The penalty kill unit was particularly outstanding, not allowing a single goal in the series. This included a crucial kill in overtime of Game 1 when Connor McDavid took a 4-minute penalty. McDavid later redeemed himself by scoring the game-winning goal.
The Oilers’ powerplay also resurged in Games 5 and 6, scoring early goals to establish leads that the team held onto with strong goaltending and penalty killing. A highlight was a beautiful play in Game 5 where a stretch pass from Evan Bouchard to Leon Draisaitl set up a perfect goal by Nugent-Hopkins.
Overall, the Oilers’ path to the Finals has been defined by their exceptional special teams, turning a potentially even series at even strength into decisive victories through powerplay and penalty kill success.
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