The early and overwhelming team storyline for the Edmonton Oilers 1/4 of the way through the season is the team's struggles away from Rexall Place. The difference between home and road play has created enough material for a year's worth of "home cooking" puns for Gene Principe. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' road woes have been well-documented, but he's not alone. In fact, outside of the team's veteran core, the entire team has been in deep away from home this season, as evidenced by the scoring chances thus far:
| Team | SCF | SCA | SC% |
| Home | 116 | 96 | 0.547 |
| Road | 130 | 166 | 0.439 |
| Overall | 246 | 262 | 0.484 |
They've performed like the Capitals at home, and like a worse version of the 10-11 Oilers on the road.
The home splits are jaw-dropping, led by the rookie:
| # | Player | HSC | HSCA | HSC% |
| 93 | Ryan Hopkins | 55 | 29 | 0.655 |
| 14 | Jordan Eberle | 50 | 27 | 0.649 |
| 4 | Taylor Hall | 51 | 31 | 0.622 |
| 91 | Magnus Paajarvi | 21 | 15 | 0.583 |
| 55 | Ben Eager | 10 | 8 | 0.556 |
| Team | 116 | 96 | 0.547 | |
| 83 | Ales Hemsky | 13 | 11 | 0.542 |
| 89 | Sam Gagner | 15 | 14 | 0.517 |
| 28 | Ryan Jones | 26 | 26 | 0.500 |
| 94 | Ryan Smyth | 35 | 36 | 0.493 |
| 20 | Eric Belanger | 16 | 18 | 0.471 |
| 10 | Shawn Horcoff | 31 | 39 | 0.443 |
| 37 | Lennart Petrell | 8 | 11 | 0.421 |
| 57 | Anton Lander | 10 | 14 | 0.417 |
Only the much-maligned fourth line and Shawn Horcoff, he of the 33% offensive zonestart, aren't breaking even or better. The defense, actually part of the defense, looks great at home as well:
| # | Player | HSC | HSCA | HSC% |
| 44 | Corey Potter | 36 | 21 | 0.632 |
| 58 | Jeff Petry | 27 | 16 | 0.628 |
| 5 | Ladislav Smid | 46 | 29 | 0.613 |
| 77 | Tom Gilbert | 44 | 35 | 0.557 |
| Team | 116 | 96 | 0.547 | |
| 13 | Cam Barker | 21 | 24 | 0.467 |
| 25 | Andy Sutton | 15 | 21 | 0.417 |
| 24 | Theo Peckham | 18 | 32 | 0.360 |
Peckham's .360 is not a fluke, as he's struggled to find any part of his game this season.
As good as the team has been at home, things are just as bad on the road:
| # | Player | RSC | RSCA | RSC% |
| 57 | Anton Lander | 19 | 18 | 0.514 |
| 83 | Ales Hemsky | 36 | 35 | 0.507 |
| 91 | Magnus Paajarvi | 16 | 16 | 0.500 |
| 10 | Shawn Horcoff | 54 | 57 | 0.486 |
| 94 | Ryan Smyth | 54 | 61 | 0.470 |
| 4 | Taylor Hall | 37 | 44 | 0.457 |
| 89 | Sam Gagner | 22 | 28 | 0.440 |
| Team | 130 | 166 | 0.439 | |
| 93 | Ryan Hopkins | 35 | 46 | 0.432 |
| 28 | Ryan Jones | 31 | 41 | 0.431 |
| 14 | Jordan Eberle | 39 | 57 | 0.406 |
| 20 | Eric Belanger | 26 | 41 | 0.388 |
| 55 | Ben Eager | 10 | 17 | 0.370 |
| 37 | Lennart Petrell | 12 | 22 | 0.353 |
WIthout the protection Tom Renney can provide at home, Hopkins drops 22 percentage points and Eberle drops 24 points. Horcoff, even with the burden of defensive zonestarts, has performed well. Hemsky's road trip was the best among the Oilers.
The defense hasn't been as lucky. The combination of injuries and a long road trip have been too much to overcome.
| # | Player | RSC | RSCA | RSC% |
| 77 | Tom Gilbert | 50 | 56 | 0.472 |
| 24 | Theo Peckham | 36 | 41 | 0.468 |
| 5 | Ladislav Smid | 49 | 60 | 0.450 |
| Team | 130 | 166 | 0.439 | |
| 58 | Jeff Petry | 36 | 46 | 0.439 |
| 25 | Andy Sutton | 13 | 19 | 0.406 |
| 44 | Corey Potter | 24 | 41 | 0.369 |
| 13 | Cam Barker | 12 | 24 | 0.333 |
Tom Gilbert's play has been stellar, Norris-worthy in fact, and he's led the team on the road, even with the tough quality of competition he's faced. Cam Barker's play has been nothing short of terrible and Corey Potter drops 26 percentage points on the road.
As always, thanks to Dennis King for tracking the Oilers' scoring chances.