Grading the Edmonton Oilers' Performance for the First Half of the Season

The 2013 season hasn't quite played out as the Edmonton Oilers would have hoped so far. 

Heading into the season there was a ton of optimism, and rightfully so, with a talented group of young forwards and the additions of Nail Yakupov and Justin Schultz. 

But once again the Oilers find themselves at the bottom of the Western Conference, and are the second worst team in the entire NHL.

Some things are working in Edmonton, but not enough so far. Here are the grades for the Edmonton Oilers' performance for the first half of the season.

Offense

With only 54 goals scored this season, the Edmonton Oilers are the lowest scoring team in the entire NHL, a fact that is inexcusable considering the talented group of forwards the Oilers have assembled through the draft over the last couple of seasons.

While Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Justin Schultz have had individual success so far this year, the team as a whole struggles at scoring goals, and they lose close games because of this.

If Edmonton is going to salvage anything from the season, they are going to have to find ways to put the puck in the back of the net.

Grade: F

Special Teams

The special teams for the Edmonton Oilers have been one of the lone bright spots so far this season, with both the power-play and penalty-killing units ranking in the top 10 in the entire NHL.

While the power-play success may not be that big of a surprise, considering the talented crop of forwards that the Oilers have, it is the penalty-killing unit that has really stood out.

Considering the Oilers have taken the fifth most penalties in the league, it is surprising that the team has been able to perform at such a consistent level.

Power-play Grade: B+

Penalty-kill Grade: A-

Goaltending

Devan Dubnyk has performed admirably this season but has not been rewarded for his efforts so far. 

While questions surrounded the decision to take a chance with Dubnyk as the No. 1 goalie, his overall performance has been strong.

Dubnyk has had trouble with rebound control this season, and at times has been guilty of letting in a bad goal which has hurt the team at crucial moments in games.

There have also been signs of brilliance, so there still may be hope that Dubnyk could be the answer for the team going forward. 

Grade: B

Defense

Justin Schultz has been an amazing addition to the Edmonton Oilers' defense, providing a spark for the power-play as well as being quite capable in the defensive zone as well. 

Ryan Whitney has been an extreme disappointment this season and has been a healthy scratch quite a few times; unfortunately for Edmonton, his trade value is quite low, so a move from Edmonton could be quite difficult considering how much he is being paid.

The Oilers have some pieces in place to make a talented corp of blueliners, but lack that true No. 1 option and shutdown defenseman, and until they acquire this type of player, they will continue to struggle at the back end. 

Grade: C

Overall

Overall, the Edmonton Oilers have been a disappointment and as result, find themselves as one of the worst teams in the entire NHL.

For a franchise as rich in tradition and history as the Oilers are, this is quite disheartening, and though the team has assembled some nice forwards, they have failed to assemble the right pieces in order to be a competitive team. 

The first half of the season has been rough for the Oilers, but with the trade deadline looming, perhaps the team can make some personnel changes to try and right some of the wrongs.

Final Grade: F