{"id":539206,"date":"2026-04-03T21:58:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T21:58:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/539206\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T21:58:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T21:58:23","slug":"connor-mcdavid-impressed-by-oilers-defensive-depth-amid-playoff-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/539206\/","title":{"rendered":"Connor McDavid impressed by Oilers\u2019 defensive depth amid playoff push"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Edmonton Oilers<\/a> are gaining momentum at the right time, riding a five-game win streak. Despite missing Leon Draisaitl<\/a>, the team has found balance, with contributions coming across the lineup during a crucial push for the NHL<\/a> playoffs.<\/p>\n

The run started with a 5-2 win over the Utah Mammoth and continued with victories against the Vegas Golden Knights, Anaheim Ducks, Seattle Kraken, and Chicago Blackhawks<\/a>. The latest 3-1 win over Chicago highlighted Edmonton\u2019s ability to control games while maintaining consistency on both ends.<\/p>\n

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Connor McDavid<\/a> credited the team\u2019s depth for the recent surge. Speaking after the win, he pointed to strong defensive play and reliable goaltending as key factors. He praised pairings like Darnell Nurse and Connor Murphy, while also highlighting contributions from across the forward lines.<\/p>\n

MORE: Oilers\u2019 goalie Connor Ingram creates history after shutout win over Kraken<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been team efforts, obviously,\u201d McDavid said. \u201cI think our D have played really, really well. Nursey and Murf have been as solid a pairing as we\u2019ve had, and Bush [Evan Bouchard] and Ek [Mattias Ekholm] are doing their thing, and Wally [Jake Walman] and Embo [Ty Emberson] are giving us good, solid minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goalies are doing their thing, and we\u2019re getting scoring from kind of everyone, and it\u2019s been good.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Defensively, the Oilers have shown improvement, allowing fewer goals and limiting high-danger chances.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, McDavid continues to lead the NHL with 126 points, but the Oilers are no longer relying solely on their captain. Players like Adam Henrique and Vasily Podkolzin have stepped up, while goaltenders Connor Ingram and Tristan Jarry have delivered steady performances.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s obviously been good,\u201d McDavid said. \u201cNot just because we\u2019re winning games, but you can tell the emotional engagement is there. Guys are just a little bit more engaged in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE: Connor McDavid chases Gretzky era greatness in pre-30 scoring race<\/a><\/p>\n

The team has now won seven of its last nine games, showing resilience even without one of its top stars. This stretch has underlined Edmonton\u2019s ability to adapt and compete in tight situations.<\/p>\n

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Connor McDavid talks about the Oilers\u2019 plan for winning the division\"\"<\/p>\n

McDavid downplayed the importance of finishing first in the Division, keeping the focus on securing a playoff spot. With the win against the Blackhawks, the Oilers are tied with the Anaheim Ducks<\/a> for first place in the Pacific Division.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think obviously just putting the X beside our name is the most important thing,\u201d McDavid said. \u201cJust getting in. That\u2019s our main focus.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere we are seated, not too concerned about it. We can start a series on the road. We can start a series at home. Pretty comfortable either way. But just got to get in.\u201d<\/p>\n

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MORE: Oilers\u2019 Connor McDavid keeps it real on Leon Draisaitl question<\/a><\/p>\n

Edmonton holds a strong 39-28-9 record and remains among the league\u2019s top offensive teams. With improved depth and confidence, the Oilers are once again positioning themselves as a serious contender heading into the postseason.<\/p>\n

While questions remain about consistency, the recent performances suggest progress at a key stage of the season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Edmonton Oilers are gaining momentum at the right time, riding a five-game win streak. Despite missing Leon…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":539207,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5125],"tags":[1586,233,96,2663,155,1563,1809,198,146,5300,425,5,3144,370,868,4,24,234,488,4991,6769,4702,3154,1588,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-539206","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edmonton-oilers","8":"tag-adam-henrique","9":"tag-anaheim-ducks","10":"tag-chicago-blackhawks","11":"tag-connor-ingram","12":"tag-connor-mcdavid","13":"tag-connor-murphy","14":"tag-darnell-nurse","15":"tag-edmonton","16":"tag-edmonton-oilers","17":"tag-edmontonoilers","18":"tag-evan-bouchard","19":"tag-hockey","20":"tag-jake-walman","21":"tag-leon-draisaitl","22":"tag-mattias-ekholm","23":"tag-nhl","24":"tag-oilers","25":"tag-seattle-kraken","26":"tag-spencer-knight","27":"tag-the-oilers","28":"tag-tristan-jarry","29":"tag-ty-emberson","30":"tag-utah-mammoth","31":"tag-vasily-podkolzin","32":"tag-vegas-golden-knights"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116343021368377776","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=539206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/539207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=539206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=539206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=539206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}