I hope my fellow Oilers fans had a joyous Christmas holiday, even though the record that the team comes back with is not the ideal Christmas present. They sit with an 18-15-2 record in the standings. As stated in a tweet by Daniel Nugent-Bowman, this is the same record that the Oilers had last season after 35 games. But they were barely hanging onto a wild card spot last season and are just one point out this season.
I’ve stated in past articles that it’s become a yearly occurrence for them to forget playing hockey around this time of the season and then look fine a couple of months after. The only difference is no one expects a coaching change this time around. But Jay Woodcroft having McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins, and McLeod(back from injury) centering their own lines in their last game, despite the loss, was a nice escape from his Dave Tippett impressions early on.
I know RNH is having a career year points-wise, but gluing him to the third line feels like a better way to balance out the offense rather than keep all the eggs in one basket. Putting 97 and 29 on the same line is a move made out of in-game desperation. Evander Kane will return to the roster the same way he went into it, a struggling team that gets an extra jolt with a couple of months left in the season.
The roster isn’t by any means perfect, but it isn’t always on the GM or the coach. If the players keep playing with the same habits year after year, they also have to take responsibility. While they should try to bring in good pieces when closer to the trade deadline, It’s not just how good/bad we think they look on paper. Not starting games on time, only playing one good period out of three, and playing to the level of their opponents. Those are mental flaws, not managerial ones. A win against Dallas was impressive. Earning only two of a possible eight points against St. Louis, Anaheim, Nashville and Vancouver was not. This week’s opponents are…
Tuesday December 27th at 7pm VS Calgary Flames
The last meeting of only three between the provincial rivals this season, all before the 41-game mark. To which I shout for the last time… WHY BETTMAN WHY!? Both teams were in the same position this time last year, but there was more excitement for the Battle of Alberta after last year’s playoffs. That excitement has been turning into who can have bragging rights on being the worst losers. Jacob Markstrom has been improving his play in net lately, but he and Dan Vladar have been Calgary’s version of Jack Campbell and Stuart Skinner. At least the last Battle of Alberta until the playoffs (hopefully) should be meaningful, as one point separates both of them from a wild card spot right now.
Friday December 30th at 8pm VS Seattle Kraken
Not that this should be an excuse for how Edmonton and Calgary are doing, but how they look in the standings does have a bit to do with Seattle’s surprise start to the season. Last year, Anaheim was like that before falling back down. This year, they are in the Connor Bedard sweepstakes. Martin Jones had a good stretch as their starting goalie between late October and mid-November. But his stats, along with Philipp Grubauer’s, are not the sorts of goalie stats you can sustain a playoff spot with over an 82-game schedule. What I will give the Kraken credit for is their offense by committee. The 2021 2nd overall pick Matty Beniers looks to be an exciting NHLer and could be a star in another season or two from now.
Saturday December 31st at 8pm VS Winnipeg Jets
What a turnaround it has been for this other Canadian club. They’ve always looked like a team with potential that should do better every year but then underachieve. For all the talk about their core needing to be broken up and the captaincy being removed from a player still on the team, they are looking like a roster that could break Canada’s Stanley Cup drought. Josh Morrisey is an early Norris candidate, and they’ve been finding all this success even without a key piece on their team, Nikolaj Ehlers. Their 5th-ranked PK should give Edmonton’s top-ranked PP a stressful time, which is also helped by having Connor Hellebuyck in net. And I really wanted Sam Gagner to be an Oiler again.
