Oilers will win Stanley Cup led by McDavid, defense

Lessons learned about how important defense is in the Stanley Cup Playoffs will be the biggest reason the Edmonton Oilers will win their sixth Cup championship and first since 1990.

The Oilers (47-27-6) adopted a difference-making attention to defensive details under coach Jay Woodcroft, who took over when Dave Tippett was fired on Feb. 10. Under Tippett, Edmonton was outscored 100-88 at 5-on-5. After Woodcroft took over, the Oilers vastly improved in that department, outscoring the opposition 93-73 for the rest of the regular season. That kind of game will translate to a winning formula for the playoffs.
It was all part of the maturation process the past two seasons after Edmonton lost its opening playoff series despite being the favorite each time; the Oilers were the fifth seed but lost in four games to the 12th-seeded Chicago Blackhawks in the best-of-5 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers, then after finishing second in the North Division, were swept by the third-place Winnipeg Jets in the best-of-7 2021 Stanley Cup First Round.
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In those two series, Edmonton allowed an average of 3.75 goals against per game, second-worst among all playoff teams and better only than the 3.92 goals per game allowed by the St. Louis Blues.
The combination this season of better defense and the powerful offense led by centers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will be game-changing.
McDavid won the Art Ross Trophy as NHL scoring leader for the fourth time with a career-high 123 points (44 goals, 79 assists) in 80 games, and Draisaitl reached an NHL career-high in goals and finished fourth in the scoring race with 110 points (55 goals, 55 assists) in 80 games.

Just as important, McDavid and Draisaitl played mostly on separate lines once Woodcroft took over, and the Oilers were then consistently deep at center with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (50 points; 11 goals, 39 assists in 63 games) centering the third line.
Edmonton's depth and balance were also enhanced thanks to 54 points (27 goals, 27 assists) in 76 games from forward Zach Hyman, who signed as a free agent on July 28, 2021, and 39 points (22 goals, 17 assists) in 43 games from forward Evander Kane, who signed on Jan. 27.
The Oilers also took advantage of better health in the second half, in particular that of goalie Mike Smith.
Smith was 16-9-2 with a 2.81 goals-against average, .915 save percentage and two shutouts in 28 games (27 starts) after missing most of the first half with a lower-body and a thumb injury; once the 40-year-old returned to health, things became much more stable and impactful in Edmonton's crease. Mikko Koskinen, who was 27-12-4 with 3.10 GAA, .903 save percentage and one shutout in 45 games (43 starts) was also far more effective in the second half when he had a lighter workload.