OilersNation has reported:
The Edmonton Oilers have allowed a power-play goal in each of their first four games this season, leaving their penalty kill ranked 27th in the NHL at 64.3 per cent. The start has raised questions about the unit, though the team says it is learning a more aggressive system introduced by associate coach DJ Smith and expects to improve as the season continues.
The latest trouble came Wednesday night in Anaheim, where Edmonton trailed 2-0 after the first period. Beckett Sennecke scored both goals from close range on the power play, but the Oilers killed the Ducks’ final five advantages, including a late two-man situation that became a six-on-three for Anaheim.
Edmonton’s regular-season penalty-kill percentage has declined across the past three seasons. The team finished at 79.5 per cent in 2023-24, 15th in the NHL, slipped to 16th the following season and placed 20th last year at 77.8 per cent.
The playoff results have followed a similar path, with a steeper drop after a standout run. Edmonton killed penalties at a 94.3 per cent rate in the 2023-24 playoffs, the best mark among that year’s post-season teams, and recorded a streak of 34 consecutive kills. The Oilers fell to third-last in the 2024-25 playoffs and finished last in the 2025-26 playoffs, when the Ducks scored eight power-play goals against them over a six-game series.
The current season’s early results are poor, but the specific chances opponents have converted are also drawing attention. In Wednesday’s game, Sennecke was left alone in front of the Edmonton net twice. Devon Levi had little chance against the six-foot-three, 208-pound goal scorer at close range.
Three nights earlier, Seattle’s Bobby McMann, nicknamed “Oiler Killer,” received the puck inside the faceoff dot with enough time to settle it and shoot past Edmonton’s penalty killers. Elias Pettersson scored in what the source described as a “touchdown” game after a well-placed seam pass and a powerful shot. In the season opener, Pettersson had also found space in front of the net with his stick free.
Those goals point to a recurring opening in the slot and suggest the Oilers need to adjust their coverage. Edmonton has been using more motion and pressure on the penalty kill, a change expected with the team’s shift away from last season’s more passive approach. Carolina and Tampa Bay, two of the NHL’s strongest penalty-kill teams in recent seasons, have used similar pressure-based strategies.
Early in the season, opponents have been able to complete several passes against Edmonton and expose gaps near the net. Shawn Belle discussed the adjustment during an appearance Thursday on ON Everyday, saying some of the problems can be attributed to players learning a new system that differs substantially from last season’s approach.
Smith spoke in the off-season about building a penalty-kill system suited to the players in the rotation. A pressure approach is familiar to him, and the Oilers have speed as well as experienced, physically strong defencemen who can defend in front of the net. The system has not yet come together consistently.
Head coach Mike Babcock described the early mistakes as part of the process. “Well, I think what happens to start when you’re trying to play the way we are, you make mistakes, and everyone goes, ‘Whoa, does the system work?'” Babcock said. “Let’s just continue to be aggressive. Let’s do things right, and those will all go away.”
He said the players should keep working through the mistakes rather than lose confidence in the approach. “But if you start second-guessing, and everyone’s questioning, and we stand still, it goes in your net all year long. It might take us some time. Shake their hand, tip your hat to them, say good goal, line up, and let’s go again.”
Consistency among the players taking each penalty kill is another factor. Connor Murphy spoke in the off-season about the value of having a regular unit that understands where teammates will be and how to support one another. The same kind of familiarity that helps a power-play group can make the penalty kill operate more smoothly.
Injuries have made a stable rotation difficult for Edmonton early in the season. Jason Dickinson is hopefully back for good now, which could help settle the personnel. The group may change again when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman return from injury, since some bottom-six players who help kill penalties could move in and out of the lineup.
Smith has also identified preventing clean zone entries and challenging opponents at the blue line as priorities. Those actions support a pressure system by making it harder for a power play to establish possession in the offensive zone. Edmonton ranked 27th in the NHL at denying entries while shorthanded last season, and opponents have entered the zone easily so far this season, another indication the unit is not operating at full strength.
The Oilers used a 1-3 neutral-zone formation in the 2023-24 playoffs, allowing the team to challenge at the blue line while a high forward pressured the puck. Preventing an opponent from entering with possession may have helped produce Edmonton’s record-setting streak of consecutive penalty kills. Smith’s current system includes a similar approach, and the team will look for more attacks to be stopped at the blue line so opponents have to regroup and begin another entry attempt.
The source expects Edmonton’s penalty kill to improve with greater consistency in the lineup and more time spent working within Smith’s system. Progress could show up in a more confident, connected group challenging at the blue line, denying entries and forcing opposing power plays to restart from behind their own goal line. When opponents do set up, pressure should produce mishandled pucks, inaccurate passes and more clears, while defenders keep the area in front of the net covered.
Reducing the number of penalties Edmonton takes would also limit the workload on the unit, and the Oilers are expected to try to stay out of the box in upcoming games. The source included a separate Nation Gear promotion: its Nation Citizen and Hope Will Never Die “originals” have returned in a limited-edition OG Collection at nationgear.ca. The designs are now on premium Levelwear apparel, with the collection promoted as everyday wear and described as nostalgic favourites.