The Oilers will go with 11 forwards & seven defencemen for the second straight game when Adam Henrique receives the Silver Stick for reaching 1,000 NHL games before facing the Rangers

On the day the Edmonton Oilers acquired Vasily Podkolzin, the only real question about the winger involved offence. No matter a winger’s size, speed or two-way acumen, forwards are expected to move the needle offensively. By the time the Vancouver Canucks dealt him, management felt like they had their answer.

This might sound unlikely, but the Edmonton Oilers are off to their best start in three seasons. The Oilers currently sit at 5–4–2 through their first 11 games.

Though Edmonton’s offense was outstanding this game, it was uncanny for the Mammoth’s defense, which allowed just 2.40 goals per game (tied for second-best in the league heading into this matchup), to collapse the way it did in a single period.

The Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers are both coming off a solid outing that helped them snap a skid, and each will look to keep it going when the two squads square off in Edmonton on Thursday.

Through the first seven games of this NHL season, the Edmonton Oilers averaged 1.55 goals per 60 during five-on-five play. After seven games in 2024-25, Edmonton’s five-on-five goals per 60 of 1.57 was also near the bottom of the league. The club recovered from there; in the final 75 games, it posted 2.56 goals per 60.

The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Utah Mammoth 6–3 in their first visit to Rogers Place. What was a glacial start turned into an impressive character win for the Oilers.

Edmonton’s Captain Connor McDavid leads all active Oilers in career points (7) while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins leads all active Oilers in career goals (3) versus Utah. McDavid has registered a multi-point effort in all three career games he has played against Utah (per Oilers PR).

The Edmonton Oilers have worked hard to become a defensively tougher squad over the last couple of seasons. Their efforts have yet to translate to a Stanley Cup, as they fell to the Florida Panthers two years in a row,

For better or worse, the Edmonton Oilers have cultivated a reputation over the last few seasons as being extremely slow starters. Back in 2022-23, the Oilers went 10-10-0 in their first 20 games before finishing with a 50-23-9 record and 109 points.

Igor Kravchuk, Bob Beers and Boris Mironov were featured on the power play during the early 1990s, but none could be described as a pure puck mover. Roman Hamrlik arrived in the late 1990s and provided offensive help, but he was a complete player and was on the ice in all situations.