CALGARY, AB - What was once an area in need of improvement has quickly become a position of strength, as the Oilers have been able to find the even-strength offence they were looking for earlier in the season.
The Oilers have tallied 15 even-strength goals in their last five games - averaging three per outing - which is a stark contrast to the 1.83 even-strength strikes per game they averaged over the first 41 matches of the year.
"It's one of the parts that we wanted to improve in the second half of the season," Oilers Head Coach Dave Tippett said Friday following an optional skate at Scotiabank Saddledome.
"The 5-on-5 play, we wanted to clean it up coming out of the break. We tweaked a couple of things and found some more balance in our lines upfront. It's certainly an onus that we put on our group both offensively and defensively to be better at 5-on-5. The trip's gone alright that way so far."
BLOG: Strength at evens
"It's certainly an onus that we put on our group both offensively and defensively to be better at 5-on-5," Oilers Head Coach Dave Tippett said of his club's play at even-strength of late
