After 18 games on the bench, Knoblauch and his staff have turned things completely around and have shown that the Oilers can win games and playing at a high level. One of the biggest changes for the Oilers is flipping the script back to offence and removing the defensive schemes that Woodcroft was trying to implement. The players have responded, and the numbers are trending in the right direction.
It's incredible to think the team was dead last in their transition defence and now is second overall in the NHL. The team is clearly favoring Paul Coffey's way of defending the game along with the sense of calm that Knoblauch has put on the bench. During his initial press conference, he reiterated that the team needed to get back to their identity and feel good about themselves again.