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The more things change, the more they stay the same. Though the Oilers are far more exciting this year compared to the brutal past few years, the Oilers are still one of the worst defensive teams in the league. Not only are the 29th in shots against at 33.8 per game, they are still one of the most outshot teams in the league:
| Team | GP | SF | SA | Δ/Game | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Louis Blues | 10 | 309 | 221 | 9 |
| 2 | Phoenix Coyotes | 11 | 358 | 287 | 6 |
| 3 | Calgary Flames | 8 | 256 | 205 | 6 |
| 4 | Boston Bruins | 9 | 282 | 239 | 5 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Kings | 9 | 261 | 221 | 4 |
| 6 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 11 | 342 | 300 | 4 |
| 7 | Ottawa Senators | 11 | 370 | 331 | 4 |
| 8 | Carolina Hurricanes | 9 | 332 | 309 | 3 |
| 9 | San Jose Sharks | 10 | 307 | 289 | 2 |
| 10 | Detroit Red Wings | 10 | 300 | 284 | 2 |
| 11 | Colorado Avalanche | 10 | 296 | 290 | 1 |
| 12 | Vancouver Canucks | 10 | 282 | 279 | 0 |
| 13 | New Jersey Devils | 10 | 264 | 262 | 0 |
| 14 | Winnipeg Jets | 10 | 282 | 280 | 0 |
| 15 | Chicago Blackhawks | 11 | 315 | 314 | 0 |
| 16 | Montreal Canadiens | 10 | 284 | 285 | 0 |
| 17 | New York Rangers | 10 | 285 | 290 | -1 |
| 18 | Anaheim Ducks | 9 | 240 | 245 | -1 |
| 19 | Philadelphia Flyers | 11 | 302 | 312 | -1 |
| 20 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 11 | 311 | 326 | -1 |
| 21 | Minnesota Wild | 10 | 262 | 276 | -1 |
| 22 | New York Islanders | 10 | 291 | 307 | -2 |
| 23 | Washington Capitals | 11 | 309 | 327 | -2 |
| 24 | Buffalo Sabres | 11 | 337 | 361 | -2 |
| 25 | Florida Panthers | 10 | 279 | 306 | -3 |
| 26 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 10 | 274 | 309 | -4 |
| 27 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 11 | 294 | 341 | -4 |
| 28 | Edmonton Oilers | 10 | 276 | 338 | -6 |
| 29 | Nashville Predators | 10 | 210 | 283 | -7 |
| 30 | Dallas Stars | 11 | 274 | 367 | -8 |
An exciting offense packed with 1st round draft picks can't overcome the defensive deficiencies in Edmonton. Management wasn't able to address the defense in the off-season except to bring in Justin Schultz, (imagine how bad this defense would be if he didn't pan out) and the Oilers are suffering once again from roster imbalance.
The defensive load has been placed on the forwards' shoulders and they're not carrying it well.