After breaking down how the Edmonton Oilers score goals off the rush, let’s take a look at how they generate offence in other ways at five-on-five.

1. Behind the net

It’s so hard to defend behind the net.

Where the Oilers are taking advantage is when they change the point of attack behind the net and they switch their forwards in front. Not only does opponent lose sight of their coverage, but the Oilers are in a better position to generate offence.

Lastly, take a look how they are patient with the puck, often waiting for the opponent to make the first move.

2. Controlled breakout

Edmonton doesn’t use a lot of controlled breakouts, but when they do it, they usually come back four behind and keep one guy high. By sending one guy high, that opens up the neutral zone a bit. More space equals more room and more speed for players like McDavid.

In this example, it’s a mistake from poor coverage after a line change, but is still effective.

3. Faceoff

We will discuss this in another article about the importance, or not, of the faceoff. But no matter what, you need to have a plan on a won or lost draw. And why not try to create offence from the faceoff when you can?

We can see the Oilers trying some different set faceoffs here.

4. Forecheck

There’s a difference between a fast team on the forecheck and a team who can forecheck. Just look at the Lightning last year in the playoffs.

If we look at the Oilers, their F1 is not only going hard, but they are physical, and they stop on the puck. Stopping on the puck is crucial — probably the most important thing to win battles.

5. Puck movement

What’s harder than catching up to the puck carrier? Chasing the puck when they are quickly moving it all over the ice. Passing is faster than skating.

We can see Edmonton uses the pick and the scissor play everywhere in the zone. Using the low-to-high and high-to-low. When the players and the puck are all in movement, you can catch a lot of opponents flat-footed.

6. Transition

Transitional play can come from a turnover, giveaway, or just retrieving the puck and waiting for a play to develop. From there, the quick-up is an easy pass that can sometimes beat three forwards.