Oilers stumbled, took step back after success last season

The Edmonton Oilers (32-36-5, 69 points) were eliminated from a Stanley Cup Playoff spot after the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Calgary Flames 4-0 on Wednesday. The Oilers have made the playoffs once in the past 12 seasons; that was last season, when they had 103 points and advanced to the Western Conference Second Round.

Depending on the NHL Draft Lottery results, the Oilers likely will have a top 10 selection in the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft on June 22 in Dallas.
Here is a look at what happened in 2017-18 for the Oilers and why things could be better in 2018-19.

The skinny

Potential UFAs:
Mike Cammalleri
, LW; Yohann Auvitu, D
Potential RFAs: Darnell Nurse, D; Matt Benning, D; Ryan Strome, C; Anton Slepyshev, LW; Drake Caggiula, LW; Iiro Pakarinen, RW.
Potential 2018 Draft picks: 6

What went wrong

Special teams implosion: Though the Oilers' 5-on-5 scoring dropped marginally this season, from 2.02 goals per game last season to 1.97 in 2017-18, special teams sank the Oilers. Edmonton's home penalty killing, at 61.9 percent, is on track to be the worst in the NHL's modern era (since 1967-68). The 1977-78 Washington Capitals were 66.7 percent in penalty killing at home. Though first in penalty killing on the road this season (86.7 percent), the Oilers are 29th in overall penalty killing (75.1 percent), down from tied for 17th with the San Jose Sharks (80.7 percent) last season. On the power play, the Oilers went from fifth (56 power-play goals, 22.9 percent) last season to 31st (26 power-play goals, 14.3 percent) this season. Those declines prevented the Oilers from gathering any momentum during games and from achieving any kind of meaningful winning streaks.

Quickness sagged: With a fragility on special teams, the Oilers became a tentative, uncertain team and it showed in their execution. Even with the speed of center Connor McDavid, Edmonton began to look like the second-fastest team on the ice in many games because of poor passing and slow decision-making.
Expectations overwhelmed: The Oilers took a major step forward last season, reaching the Western Conference Second Round, but expectations outran reality. "Expectations were really high in the summertime and we couldn't get that under control, and that hurt us coming out of the gate," Oilers Entertainment Group CEO Bob Nicholson said. The Oilers were 10-14-2 on Nov. 30 and have been unable to gain in the standings since, going 22-22-3 in 47 games.

Reasons for optimism

Connor McDavid: The
Art Ross Trophy
and
Hart Trophy
winner last season, McDavid is challenging for the Art Ross again with 90 points (34 goals, 56 assists) in 73 games. That production included about a month early in the season when the Oilers captain wasn't at his best, playing through a prolonged bout with strep throat. Even though the Oilers disappointed, McDavid continued to be a force.

Cam Talbot: Talbot was the Oilers' rock last season but struggled with game-to-game consistency and gave up some questionable goals in the first half. Talbot, who played the most minutes in the NHL last season (4,294) and emerged as a bona fide No. 1 goalie, has looked more himself in recent games; he's 5-1-0 with a 1.81 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage in his past six starts.
Memories: When training camp convenes in September, it will be fresh for the Oilers how their 2017-18 fell apart and motivation and some fire ought to be present to prove that was the anomaly. That memory of the magnitude of commitment and effort it took to put together a 103-point regular season and finish second in the Pacific Division figures to be in better focus after the travails of this season.