Not On Our Kill

Oiler Penalty Kill




If there's one thing working like a charm for the Oilers, it's the penalty kill.
As of today, the Oilers PK is #3 in the NHL behind Minny and Dallas.
Last year the Oilers had the eighth best PK. Two seasons ago, it was the 27th best (for comparison's sake). If there is one thing Craig MacTavish was known for in his time in the league, it was being the last player to wear a helmet - and being a reliable role player and penalty killer.

With Ethan Moreau going down, I figured the Oilers PK would take a dive after his plugging and grinding in the PK unit. He's one of the mainstays of the Oiler penalty kill and has been one of the reasons the unit worked so well last year to shut down other powerplays. Hell, Chopper even had two shorthanded goals in a game last year.
Here's some comparisons before and after Ethan.
Before the injury: The Oiler powerplay was tied for second in the league with a 91.3% efficiency (4 goals allowed out of 46 shorthanded situations).
Before and After the injury: The Oiler powerplay is now tied for third with a 90.1% rating (10 goals allowed out of 101 powerplays against).
During the injury: 89.1% efficiency - 6 goals allowed out of 55 powerplays.

More facts about the Penalty Kill.
So far 10 goals have been scored against the Oilers during a powerplay - here are the goal scorers, the games and (just for shits and giggles) the Oiler who got to watch the goal scored from the penalty box.
Game #3 (In San Jose - Oilers won)
Cheechoo scores - Jason Smith in the box
Cheechoo scores again - Torres in the box
M. Michalek - Hemsky and Sykora (5 on 3)
Game #6 (In Edmonton - Against Vancouver - Oilers won)
Naslund - Tjarnqvist
Game #8 (In Edmonton - Against Phoenix - Oilers won)
Comrie - Thoresen
Game #10 (In Phoenix - Oilers lost)
Z. Michalek - Reasoner
Nagy - Horcoff
Game #12 (In Edmonton - Against Nashville - Oilers lost)
Weber - Horcoff
Game #15 (In Detroit - Oilers lost)
Hudler - Thoresen
Game #16 (In Columbus - Oilers won)
A. Carter - Winchester

Who's On The Penalty Kill?????
So far this season, here are the Oiler leaders with Time On Ice during the Penalty Kill.
J. Smith 85:06
S. Horcoff 68:51
S. Staios 68:38
D. Tjarnqvist 67:01
F. Pisani 55:17
Interestingly, despite playing 7 games to most of the team's 19 or 20, Moreau is still ranked 11th on the team with 27:16 minutes of Shorthanded Time On Ice. At the bottom (not counting the zeroes - Mikhnov and Jacques):
J. Lupul 1:27
P. Sykora 1:15
B. Winchester 0:08
R. Torres 0:02

So that's the Oiler Penalty Kill. A few wee tidbits - no real substance.