The Oilers penalty kill has been reinforced by the recent return of forward Mattias Janmark from a shoulder injury<\/p>\n
Published Dec 04, 2023<\/span> \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 5\u00a0hours ago<\/span> \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/span><\/p>\n There is a line from Stanley Kubrik\u2019s military masterpiece, Full Metal Jacket, which goes, \u201cThe Marine Corps does not want robots. The Marine Corps wants killers.\u201d<\/p>\n Well, Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch might be the furthest thing from the Smokey-The-Bear-hat-wearing gunnery sergeant, played by R. Lee Ermey in the film, but he has enjoyed seeing his special teams killing it right now.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n REGISTER TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Especially on the penalty kill, where the Oilers have set their sights on improvement since his arrival three weeks ago. Just one season removed from posting an NHL record 32.4 per cent success rate on the power play under then-head coach Jay Woodcroft, an Oilers squad that opened 2023-24 by falling short on pretty much every expectation has all of a sudden pulled up its socks when it comes to the bleakest of on-ice scenarios.<\/p>\n The team lambasted as one made up of nothing but two guys and a power play has built a foundation to make its way back to respectability (and, dare we say, maybe even a .500 record) by concentrating on defence, to the point where they finally saw their stretch of successful penalty kills end in their last outing, a 3-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets.<\/p>\n They came into that one having put together a stretch of 21 straight successful penalty kills over an impressive span of five complete games.<\/p>\n And to Knoblauch, it all comes down to his lieutenant, assistant coach Mark Stuart, who oversees the penalty kill.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Stuart is doing a good job of getting a pretty clear message across on what to do, what the opposition\u2019s planning to do and where their strengths are. That\u2019s a big part of it,\u201d Knoblauch said. \u201cAnother one is just how dialed in and focused the guys are.<\/p>\n Headline News<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cAnd when they did score that goal (to end the streak), you could see the guys upset. They were, \u2018Ah, man. We had a streak going.\u2019 So, there\u2019s a lot of ownership on that, I think that\u2019s a very important aspect on having something that you\u2019re good at, is you\u2019re invested, you know the role and you\u2019re most likely going to be executing to your best ability.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n Matheson: Expect Oilers GM Ken Holland to explore Corey Perry availability<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Matheson: The clock is ticking on Edmonton Oilers’ Philip Broberg<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n While it\u2019s often said the goalie has to be the best penalty killer, Stuart Skinner is quick to disperse any accolades being pinned to the his chest.<\/p>\n \u201cA huge credit to the guys in front of me. I\u2019ve said this a thousand times, the PK has been really good, which is a huge, huge help in just being able to win games,\u201d said Skinner, who has been a major factor in the Oilers going 6-3-0 under Knoblauch after getting off to a 3-9-1 start. \u201cSo, that\u2019s a huge props to the forwards, the D who are on the PK and the power play. Just the game overall.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re just being able to get the hang of (penalty killing) now. That\u2019s a huge part of being able to win games, especially when it comes to crunch time.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The Oilers penalty kill has been reinforced by the recent return of forward Mattias Janmark from a shoulder injury.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know why exactly of the timing, but I think you always go through stretches during the year where confidence is a big thing in the penalty kill, both from the goalie, the players,\u201d he said of Edmonton\u2019s penalty kill, which is ranked in the top 10 overall, sitting ninth at 75.56 per cent. \u201cYou\u2019re just confident in what you can give up, you know where you\u2019re going to get the saves from.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you also go through slides where it feels like whatever you do, the puck ends up in the back of your net. And we\u2019re kind of on one of those confident hot streaks right now, and I think to keep that going, you\u2019ve really got to bear down on the details. Sometimes those slip because you\u2019re relying on the offence, or whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n After the Jets scored on the power play, the Oilers came up with a pair of penalty kills to set their new streak at two going into Wednesday\u2019s game against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes (7:30 p.m., TNT, MAX).<\/p>\n \u201cWe got scored on last game, so now we\u2019ve got to get back to the details and look at what we can do better,\u201d Janmark said. \u201cEvery team approaches it differently, but if you can disrupt their entries, that\u2019s a big thing. If you can get on the puck right away that way, that helps. Any team in this league, if they can set up enough time, there are such good players on the power play.<\/p>\n \u201cIf, at the end of the day, you\u2019ve got to give up some shots, then the goaltender has to be there to bail you out.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Mattias](\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/edmontonjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/CP169352242.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=288&h=216&sig=aYGsxoNLQxr7VMh9aruiDA\" "\\"\\"")
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) saves the breakaway shot from Edmonton Oilers forward Mattias Janmark (13) in Winnipeg on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023.<\/span> Photo by John Woods<\/span> \/The Canadian Press<\/span><\/p>\nArticle content<\/h2>\n
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