The playoffs are where heroes are made, and that was the case with the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final. Previously little known players became household names for hockey fans because of what they do on the quest to the Stanley Cup. Remember when Cam Ward seemingly came out nowhere to propel the Carolina Hurricanes to the 2006 Stanley Cup? The rookie was awarded with the Conn Smythe trophy for his performance that postseason.
Who is this year’s unsung hero of the playoffs? Dallas Stars rookie Logan Stankoven is building his resume with each game the Stars play with six points in his first 14 career playoff games. Wyatt Johnson has been even more impressive with 11 points in the Stars 14 contests. Perhaps the biggest unsung hero of these playoffs comes from the Stars opponent in the Western Conference finals with the Edmonton Oilers. It isn’t a single player, but rather their entire penalty kill unit.
The Oilers killed off four penalties in Thursdays win, including a double minor in the first overtime on Connor McDavid for high sticking Matt Duchene. It’s the second game in a row the Oilers have taken a double minor penalty, yet they haven’t given up a power play goal since allowing two in game three of the Western Conference semifinals against the Vancouver Canucks. Dallas played disciplined hockey almost the whole game, only taking a bench minor for too many men on the ice towards the end of the second period.
The Oilers rank first in the playoffs with a penalty kill of 92.50%. Edmonton finished the regular season ranked 16th on the penalty kill after being ranked 30th before their season changing coaching change. In the Connor McDavid era (starting with the 2015-2016 season) the Oilers rank 22nd in the league at 79.30%. In the past two seasons, remember Stuart Skinner emerged as the clear number one goaltender last year, the Oilers rank 21st at 78.20%. In last year’s playoffs the oilers ranked ninth on the penalty kill at 75.60%.
Here’s how NHL.com explained the makeup of the Oilers penalty kill unit: “The Oilers penalty kill consists of three separate forward pairings with defensemen Mattias Ekholm, Vincent Desharnais, Darnell Nurse and Cody Ceci doing the heavy lifting. Forwards Derek Ryan, Mattias Janmark, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor Brown, Warren Foegele and Ryan McLeod rotate up front.” Out of the 48 penalties the Oilers have taken this postseason (counted using NHL.com game logs), 15 have been taken by players listed in the penalty kill units. The four players listed as doing the “heavy lifting” (Ekholm, Desharnais, Nurse and Ceci) have accounted for only three of those penalties. Foegele has taken the most penalties out of the penalty killer listed with four.
The top penalty takers for Edmonton are Evander Kane with six, Evan Bouchard with five and Foegele and Zach Hyman with four apiece. Aside from Foegele, the ones most likely to end up in the penalty box aren’t the ones most likely to see ice time on the penalty kill. Edmonton has seen 19 different players take at least one penalty so far this postseason. That includes a penalty on Stuart Skinner for an illegal play of the puck in game one against the Vancouver Canucks.
Yes, The Oilers got bailed out massively when the Stars hit the post not once, but twice, during McDavid’s double minor in the first overtime. Yes, it helped that Edmonton’s first round matchup was against a Los Angeles Kings power play that finished their short postseason run ranked last on the man advantage. If Edmonton is finally going to reach their first cup final of the McDavid era, and first since 2006, their penalty kill will be on their unsung heroes.