Edmonton Oilers key statistics

NHL.com is providing in-depth analysis for each of its 31 teams throughout August. Today, three key statistics for the Edmonton Oilers.

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1. Connor's honors

Center Connor McDavid had 108 points (41 goals, 67 assists) last season after he had 100 (30 goals, 70 assists) in 2016-17, becoming the first player to win the Art Ross Trophy in back-to-back seasons since Jaromir Jagr won four straight with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 1997-2001. He also became the first NHL player to score at least 100 points in consecutive seasons since Sidney Crosby of the Penguins did it two in a row (2008-09, 2009-10) and Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals did it three straight (2007-10).
Over the past two seasons, McDavid has scored or had an assist on 208 of Edmonton's 472 goals, an NHL-high 44.1 percent.
McDavid contributes in many other ways too. He ranks third in the NHL with 103 drawn penalties since entering the League in 2015-16, and he led Edmonton forwards with 46 blocked shots last season.
One area he's not near the top of the NHL is face-offs. His face-off winning percentage of 41.9 percent through his first three seasons was tied for 191st of the 200 players to take at least 500 draws in that span.

2. Special-teams slide

The Oilers experienced a big drop on special teams last season, impacting their goal differential by an estimated 27 goals.
They scored 31 power-play goals in 210 opportunities last season, for an NHL-worst 14.8. If they had matched their power-play percentage of 22.9 percent from 2016-17 (fifth in NHL), they would have scored 48 power-play goals.
Edmonton's penalty-kill percentage at home of 65.8 percent last season was the lowest since the NHL began tracking the statistic in 1977-78. Its penalty-kill percentage dropped from 80.7 percent in 2016-17 (17th in NHL) to 76.7 percent (25th). That drop resulted in an extra 10 goals-against.

3. Lack of production from defensemen

Darnell Nurse led Oilers defensemen with 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) in 82 games. It was the lowest total for a team-leading defenseman in the NHL last season, tied with Ryan McDonagh, who scored 26 points (two goals, 24 assists) in 49 games for the New York Rangers before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 26.
Oilers defensemen combined for 129 points (32 goals, 97 assists) last season (27th in NHL). That total was affected by injuries; Oscar Klefbom, who led Edmonton defensemen with 38 points (12 goals, 26 assists) in 82 games in 2016-17, was hampered by a shoulder injury last season and had 21 points (five goals, 16 points) in 66 games. Andrej Sekera, who scored 35 points (eight goals, 27 assists) in 80 games in 2016-17, had eight assists in 36 games last season, limited by a torn ACL.