Oilers’ Already Terrible Penalty Kill Gets Even Worse News

The Edmonton Oilers’ early-season struggles continued, as they dropped the ball in a late-game surge to lose a 4-2 decision to the Vegas Golden Knights. The loss highlighted Edmonton’s catastrophic penalty kill, which, if one can imagine, got even worse news on Wednesday. What was already a glaring issue for the Oilers has become a dire problem. The kill now sits at an abysmal 59.5% success rate—one of the worst marks in NHL history through 14 games. Only the 2020-21 New Jersey Devils (59.1%) and the 1977-78 Minnesota North Stars have fared worse in the opening stretch.

Oilers are the 4th team in NHL history with a sub 60% penalty kill through the first 14 games of a season pic.twitter.com/lISpqtrJkC

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) November 7, 2024

This is no longer just a string of games where the penalty kill hasn’t been very good. This issue is now clearly a pressing one that sees no immediate solution in sight. Considering how solid their penalty kill was during last season’s run to the Stanley Cup Final, the loss of personnel is one thing. The total lack of awareness and the inability of the goaltenders to make a timely save is another. Frankly, it’s downright shocking that this team has seen such a dramatic drop-off.

The biggest problem for the Oilers is that there isn’t a fix coming.

Oilers Must Find an Internal Solution to Penalty Kill Woes

Mattias Ekholm, one of the mainstays on the penalty kill unit, did not hold back after the game. “It has to stop. It has to stop right now,” Ekholm said, visibly frustrated. “We’re working hard to fix it… There’s things in the game that we can do better, and that’s what we gotta learn from.”

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The team has no cap space in which to make a trade for a penalty-kill specialist. Players who are out to injury aren’t PK specialists either. Edmonton can’t get back the key pieces they let leave this offseason or go back in time. They have to figure it out on their own, but Edmonton’s penalty kill woes have reached a crisis point.

Head coach Kris Knoblauch faces an urgent challenge and he understands the importance of finding a fix: “It wins you hockey games,” Knoblauch said. “We know our power play is going to get better, we know our penalty kill’s going to get better. It’s just finding the execution.”

Step One: Stop Taking Bad Penalties

One of the best ways to avoid getting scored on when short-handed is not to be short-handed. It’s unfair to suggest the Oilers should never take a penalty, but the timing of when they take them is critical. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, whose late-game penalty gave Vegas their opportunity, was an unforced error. He was candid in his costing the team at an inopportune time: “We worked so hard the rest of the game. Obviously, (I) would like to have that one back.”

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