NHL Power Rankings: Lightning strikes, Flames burn out

25. Edmonton Oilers (+4)

The Edmonton Oilers are back to their old ways of being in the middle of the draft lottery battle. It is a place they had become familiar with before drafting Connor McDavid. Then McDavid dragged them to the playoffs last season and everything seemed fine. General manager Peter Chiarelli mismanaged the last offseason, and the Oilers are near the bottom of the league again. The Oilers need to get back exactly what they lost. Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle were traded away, and the return was nowhere close to even. Either one of them on the team would have made a substantial difference to the Oilers and helped McDavid carry the team.

The Edmonton Oilers have been playing good hockey as of late. They were able to split the week winning three and losing three. No matter what the outcome of the game, McDavid is putting up points. He is now at 102 points on the season; the next closest is Nikita Kucherov six points away. The Oilers were able to beat the Los Angeles Kings, Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes. They dropped points to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Anaheim Ducks and the Columbus Blue Jackets. It is five games until the Oilers start what could be a busy offseason with both head coach Todd McLellan and general manager Peter Chiarelli on the hot seat. The Oilers will be on the road for three straight playing in Vancouver, Calgary and Minnesota before returning to Edmonton to play the Vegas Golden Knights and end the season against the Vancouver Canucks.