Oil Spills: A Podcast On The Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers are losing ground in the multi-team race for the wild-card playoff spots in the Western Conference as the NHL heads for the all-star break. A pair of weekend home losses — to the Calgary Flames and the Carolina Hurricanes — saw the Oilers slip a few points behind the pack while their rivals won games. Opportunities to get at the forefront of the wildcard race: Gone. Lost. Considering the Oilers changed coaches just two months ago, and considering they’ve won eight of thei Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Inconsistency has dogged the Edmonton Oilers for the last month — indeed, since the team lost both Oscar Klefbom and Kris Russell to injury from its defensive corps a month go, with Klefbom yet to return — resulting in them sitting on the cusp of a wildcard playoff berth in the Western Conference. And while the Oilers have been stuck in a win one or two, lose one or two type of rut as of late, at least the half dozen other teams also in the wildcard hunt have been plagued by inconsistencies, too. For Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So, what’s it going to be — the bad Edmonton Oilers we saw play the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night, or the Oilers that shut down the Anaheim Ducks the very next night? Saturday’s wretched shutout loss to the Kings showed the Oilers’ definite lack of motivation — not a playoff attitude, head coach Ken Hitchcock said after the game — while Sunday’s win over Anaheim showed the Oilers can play well when they want to. Podcast host Craig Ellingson talks to NHL beat writers Jim Matheson an Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Part 2 (of 2) of our mid-season look at the ongoing hot-button topics surrounding the Edmonton Oilers. Jim Matheson, Derek Van Diest and Craig Ellingson talk about: - the surprising Alex Chiasson - the impact of injuries to defensemen Oscar Klefbom and Kris Russell - the play of forward Jesse Puljujarvi - and the hot seat Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli occupies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Part 1 of a look back at the Edmonton Oilers’ season so far — a mid-season report of sorts as NHL teams near the halfway mark of the 2018-19 schedule. Jim Matheson, Derek Van Diest and Craig Ellingson talk about three simmering, ongoing subjects surrounding the Oilers, including: - the rise of Mikko Koskinen to become the starting goaltender. - the Nov. 20 coaching change that saw Ken Hitchcock replace Todd McLellan as head coach. - the ongoing saga of Milan Lucic, who has struggled to scor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hockey Hall of Fame writer Jim Matheson talks to Oil Spills host Craig Ellingson about the Edmonton Oilers’ successful stretch of games under head coach Ken Hitchcock, taking points in 10 of 13 games — eight of them wins — since he replaced Todd McLellan on Nov. 20, 2018. The team finally looked, shall we say, human in Vancouver on Dec. 16 in a 4-2 loss to the Canucks, a team behind them in the NHL’s Western Conference standings. While it’s important to win such games if you’re a team such as Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Edmonton Oilers have enjoyed a successful start to the Ken Hitchcock era, with the adjustments brought in by the legendary NHL coach tightening things up defensively and creating more scoring opportunities. Their play is also being bolstered by the solid goaltending by the tandem of Mikko Koskinen and Cam Talbot, and has led to a flurry of wins. All this success with a bit of a blast from the past as former Oilers captain Andrew Ference recently sounded off on the team’s dressing-room culture of a f Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We found out what a superstar-less Edmonton Oilers team is like, and it wasn’t pretty when Connor McDavid sat out his team’s game on the road against the Dallas Stars when he fell ill. While it was just one game, short of expecting McDavid to be the ultimate iron-man, illness and injuries do happen, and the Oilers certainly looked like they were running on a lower-octane fuel minus him. What it did was magnify the team’s current lack of depth on the wings. Podcast host Craig Ellingson talks to hock Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ken Hitchcock has had a good glimpse at what ails his new team, what works and what doesn’t early in his tenure behind the Edmonton Oilers bench. With other teams who had gone through a ‘rebuild’ phase at the same time as these Oilers finally realizing success — like the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres — is there anything Hitchcock, the third-winningest coach in NHL history, can do to jumpstart flailing Edmonton? Oil Spills podcast host Craig Ellingson talks to Oilers beat writer Rob Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Todd McLellan is out, Ken Hitchcock is in as the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers. The move comes after the team lost six of its last seven games heading into a road trip to California, sitting a game below .500 and sitting outside the NHL playoff picture. Host Craig Ellingson talks to hockey beat writers Jim Matheson and Derek Van Diest about the coaching change, why it happens now and what we might expect from Hitchcock, an Edmonton native and one of the winningest head coaches in NHL history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Edmonton Oilers have come crashing back to earth after a good showing in October, when they posted a 6-4-1 record while beating strong teams such as the Winnipeg Jets, the Nashville Predators and the Washington Capitals, the defending Stanley Cup champions no less, along the way. Heading into their Nov. 13 home game against the Montreal Canadiens, the Oilers had lost four games in a row in rather convincing fashion, harkening back to memories of last season’s adrift squad. Host Craig Ellingson talks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The carousel at right-wing keeps turning for the Edmonton Oilers, with Drake Caggiula catching fire in back-to-back games and hanging onto a spot on the top line alongside star Connor McDavid, even though Ty Rattie — the regular on McDavid’s right-hand flank — was ready to return to the lineup. So there’s that, and there’s also the strong play of a couple of others on the right side, Alex Chiasson and Zack Kassian, who for the moment are entrenched on the second- and fourth lines, respectively. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The goaltending’s been the big thing lately for the Edmonton Oilers. While many things have gone right for the Oilers, particularly in their last four games, to go 6-3-1 in their first 10 games of the season, the play of starting goalie Cam Talbot as well as backup Mikko Koskinen in his single appearance have backstopped the team to its winning record. Remember: many a pundit and average fan on the street weren’t giving the Oilers much of a chance to win games in October, much less come out of it wit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s the heart of the order for the Edmonton Oilers in October — three games in a row against some of the NHL’s heavyweight teams — and the big question is how they will do against them. If last Saturday’s game against the Nashville Predators, a shutout loss, is any indication, the games against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Washington Capitals and the Predators again will prove thought tests for an Oilers squad that has bared its flaws. Oil Spills podcast host Craig Ellingson talks to NHL beat w Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Leon Draisaitl, the centre of the Oilers’ second line that includes wingers Milan Lucic and Kailer Yamamoto, has failed to muster offence with his even-strength linemates to start the new NHL season. So it comes as little surprise the idea of once again moving Draisaitl onto Connor McDavid’s wing — something the Oilers have done in the past to generate goals — has come up again in the media as an option for head coach Todd McLellan, who has summarily dismissed it. The team wants Draisaitl to be Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NHL beat writer Jim Matheson has been on the road with the Edmonton Oilers for the last week and a half, starting in Germany, where the team played an exhibition game in centre Leon Draisaitl’s home town of Cologne, followed by their regular-season debut in Gothenburg, Sweden, against the New Jersey Devils, a 5-2 loss. And now, the Oilers will make their debut on North American ice on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018, facing the host Boston Bruins — a potentially tough matchup as are most of their games at the Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

They’ve made the big jump across the pond, and now the Edmonton Oilers are preparing for a big challenge to start the N-H-L season — four games on the road, with the first one in Sweden, all against what should prove to be stiff competition. That’s this backdrop for the Oilers as they continue to make final adjustments to the lineup, such as waiving players such as Pontus Aberg, who was claimed by the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, and trading defenceman Jakub Jerabek, who they had waived on Sunday to send Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Decisions, decisions. The Edmonton Oilers are about halfway through training camp, and while the NHL team has made a number of roster cuts already — sending players in bunches back to junior clubs and to the minor league in Bakersfield for the AHL team camp — the hard work deciding who stays and who goes starts now. The Oilers have three pre-season games left before they depart for Europe, where they’ll play an exhibition in Cologne, Germany, before starting the 2018-19 season in Gothenburg, Swede Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Darnell Nurse has finally signed a new contract with the Edmonton Oilers. It’ll be a big boost for the N-H-L team’s blue-line as Nurse played some important minutes for the club last season. He’ll slot into the team’s top four and take some pressure off prospects such as Ethan Bear, Caleb Jones and recent first-round draft pick Evan Bouchard. Host Craig Ellingson talks to hockey writers Jim Matheson and Derek Van Diest all about the Oilers’ defence and the challenges the players face as they Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The gang’s almost all here! Edmonton Oilers prospects have reported to rookie camp ahead of the opening of main camp later this week. It features the likes of Evan Bouchard, the Oilers’ first-round draft pick this past June, as well as other hopefuls who have an opportunity to make an impact and get a longer look as the team readies for the season. Tyler Benson, the Oilers’ second-round pick two years ago, is playing in his first pre-season games after missing action the past couple of Septembers beca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices