SI:AM | The Oilers’ Historic Win Streak

Plus, why the Warriors need to take a big swing.

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I’m very curious to see what Victor Wembanyama does tonight against the Celtics.

In today’s SI:AM:

​​🏈 Putting Mike Tomlin’s career in context

​​⚾ Hall of Fame myths

​​🏀 ​​What the Warriors need to do

11 in a row

The Edmonton Oilers have been the most frustrating team in the NHL for years now. They employ the best player in the world, Connor McDavid, who’s led the league in points in five of the past seven seasons, but they’ve gotten past the second round of the playoffs only once since the 2005–06 season. Edmonton still entered the season as one of the Stanley Cup favorites, thanks to its elite offensive core, but the wheels quickly fell off.

The Oilers got off to a horrendous start this season, losing 10 of their first 12. The low point was a loss to the San Jose Sharks, who had just broken an 11-game losing streak. Coach Jay Woodcroft was fired three days later. His dismissal came as a shock to Oilers players, including McDavid, who said he was “obviously surprised” and that Woodcroft “never lost the room.”

Edmonton replaced Woodcroft with Kris Knoblauch, who was McDavid’s coach with the OHL’s Erie Otters. (McDavid insisted that he had nothing to do with Knoblauch being hired.) Since he’s taken over, the Oilers have been basically unstoppable. They’re 21–6 under Knoblauch, including a record-breaking winning streak that they extended last night.

With a comeback 4–2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs last night, the Oilers extended their winning streak to a franchise-best 11 games. Edmonton trailed 2–0 before Leon Draisaitl scored the team’s first goal late in the second period. Derek Ryan tied it up early in the third and then Cody McLeod scored the game-winner with 3:05 left. (Evan Bouchard later added an empty-netter.)

Draisaitl said the resilience his team showed will pay dividends later in the year.

“Well, it’s definitely big,” he said. “Especially in May and June—those games, they’re all going to be tight. But I would have to say that we’ve shown it before; we’ve done it before. We’ve gone far in the playoffs before, so I don’t think it’s only this year.

“But I feel like there’s a level of composure, maybe hitting the next level here.”

With the winning streak, Edmonton has dug itself out of the hole. It sits in fourth place in the Pacific division, one point behind the Los Angeles Kings, but currently holds the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Besides firing Woodcroft, the other major move that the Oilers made early in the season was waiving goalie Jack Campbell, only 16 months after signing him to a five-year, $25 million contract. Campbell’s departure has cleared the way for Stuart Skinner to be the undisputed top goaltender, and he’s excelled of late. Skinner, who finished second in Calder Trophy (rookie of the year) voting last season, has started eight games during the winning streak and stopped 94.8% of the shots he’s faced.

The Oilers are playing like a Stanley Cup team right now, but can they keep it up? The losses they racked up early in the season mean they’re in a tighter playoff race. In a crowded Western Conference with six teams separated by just five points battling for the two wild-card spots, it’s still far from a guarantee that the Oilers will make the playoffs. But if they’re able to play this sort of hockey in May and June, they’ll be the most dangerous team in the league.

The best of Sports Illustrated

The Thunder are no longer at the top of our NBA power rankings.  :: Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports

• Michael Rosenberg has a different take than most on Steelers coach Mike Tomlin’s decision to walk out of his press conference when asked about his future in Pittsburgh.
• Rohan Nadkarni makes the case that the Warriors are in need of a major overhaul.
• Matt Verderame broke down three plays from last weekend’s playoff games to show how dangerous the Texans, Packers and Chiefs can be moving forward.
• Tom Verducci dispels four myths about Baseball Hall of Fame voting.
• There’s a new team at the top of Chris Mannix’s NBA power rankings.
• Jon Wertheim obtained a letter Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert sent to the WTA urging the organization not to hold the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia.
• Jim Harbaugh has interviewed for a second NFL coaching position.
• Alabama’s new defensive coordinator is the latest small-school head coach to leave for a coordinator job at a bigger program.
• Alabama men’s basketball coach Nate Oats apologized for shoving a Missouri player during last night’s game.

The top five...

… things I saw yesterday:

5. Joel Embiid’s slick Euro step that left Nikola Jokić in the dust.

4. Excellent saves by Maple Leafs goalie Martin Jones and Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner just seconds apart.

3. This angle of Artemi Panarin’s no-look assist.

2. Two clutch plays by Paul George to seal the Clippers’ win over the Thunder.

1. The Suns’ 25–4 run in the final six minutes to beat the Kings.

SIQ

The Denver Broncos beat the Cleveland Browns in the AFC championship game on this day in 1988, thanks in large part to a red zone fumble by which Browns player?

• Bernie Kosar
• Ozzie Newsome
• Kevin Mack
• Earnest Byner

Yesterday’s SIQ: Mickey Mantle was elected to the Hall of Fame on Jan. 16, 1974. Which of Mantle’s teammates was also elected that year?

• Whitey Ford
• Roger Maris
• Elston Howard
• Phil Rizzuto

Answer: Whitey Ford. Mantle earned 88.2% of the vote in his first year of eligibility, while Ford got in with 77.8% of the vote in his second try. (Roger Maris never exceeded 43.1% of the vote, while Elston Howard topped out at 20.7%. Phil Rizzuto was never elected to the Hall of Fame by the writers, maxing out at 38.4% of the vote in his final year on the ballot, but he was finally selected by the Veterans Committee in 1994.)

Early Hall of Fame voting results always baffle me. Who were the 43 bozos who didn’t believe Mantle belonged in the Hall of Fame? He was a three-time MVP and 20-time All-Star who won seven World Series. There’s no way 12% of voters today would have left him off their ballot.