How the Oilers went from the biggest failures of the young NHL season, to surfing one of the most impressive winning streaks the league has seen in years.
November 9th 2023 was a day that would go down in infamy for the Edmonton Oilers franchise. The day in which their horrendous start would be cemented with a 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks, a team who had been heralded as one of the worst NHL rosters assembled in recent memory and at the time, just 10-1.
The Oilers were going through some struggles of their own after lofty pre-season expectations. Betting sites had them as one of the top teams to win the cup, with some having them at +1100 to win it all, tied for 2nd with the Toronto Maple Leafs. After the humiliating defeat they were at 2-9-1 and had the league’s 2nd worst record with San Jose being the lone team behind them.
It was a complete disaster, only amplified with having to send down $5M goalie Jack Campbell to the AHL after a monumental early season struggle, where he resides to this day.
On November 20th they were 14th in the West and well out of a playoff spot, many fans of the team and hockey fans in general were ready to write it off as a lost season. The only thing that could save them would be a miracle equivalent to striking the purest of Oil.
What would transpire over the next 37 days would be a team thought dead in search of fire, burning a blaze of the likes the league hadn’t seen since January 3rd, 2017. A 16-game winning streak, the longest winning streak by a Western Conference franchise, the 2nd longest all time, and the rejuvenation of an entire franchise and fanbase back into the cup conversation.
All I can do is look back and laugh at myself for being wrong about them, and give a round of applause. The way in which they were able to get things back on track, and then some, says a lot about the resilience of the group and what a force they could be come April.
You could point to Kris Knoblauch their new head coach as a potential boost in production, since the firing of Jay Woodcroft they have gone 28-8-0 at the time of writing this.
You could point to Connor McDavid bouncing back into form after a brief stint of underperformance. I’ve always been of the belief that the Oilers go as far as McDavid can take them, and he bounced back to be tied for the league lead in assists (56) after providing 6 in his recent game, and tied for 3rd in points (77).
The Oilers have also seen former Leaf Zach Hyman continue to make an impact, as he had 12 goals during this win streak, the most of any player on the team, even leading the Oilers in goals with 32, more than Leon Draisaitl and McDavid. A reminder that he’s on only a 5 year deal, and I can’t help but find myself a bit salty.
Don’t get me started on Stuart Skinner, who would go on a 12-game win streak during this time, Calvin Pickard would pick up the remaining 4 wins. The goals against average went from 27th to 8th in the league at 2.76.
But quite possibly the most important reason of all is their ability to overcome adversity on the ice. Half of their games in the winning streak were comeback efforts. No need to handle adversity by saying buzzwords postgame about getting better, they proved that they were improving while on the ice, and that was a key to their success.
This streak to me opitimizes what the Oilers can look like when they put their defensive and goaltending struggles aside and work as one unit. When McDavid and the group are clicking, they are as dangerous as it gets.
They now have top odds to win the cup, however part of me still has my doubts. The Oilers are one of those teams that is seen as consistently underperforming in the postseason. The furthest they’ve gone with McDavid in the playoffs is a Conference Finals appearance where they were swept.
There’s still a lot of season left and anything can happen, as they currently sit 3rd in the Pacific. They still have a lot to prove before the end of the regular season if they want to be looked at as true contenders and not just a team that got hot at a convenient time.
In January, 2019 the St. Louis Blues were in dead last, otherwise known as 31st in the NHL, before going on a dominant run to completely turn the tides of their season behind their scorching hot, seemingly impenetrable rookie goalie, Jordan Binnington. The Blues finished the campaign on an 11-game win streak and eventually won the Stanley Cup.
In 2017, the Columbus Blue Jackets won 16 games in a row. But it was entirely meaningless when they failed to win a single round of the playoffs. In the first round they won but a single game against the star-studded Pittsburgh Penguins, who featured the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel and the thrill, Phil Kessel. The Penguins went on to win the 2017 Stanley Cup final, finishing the playoff tournament 16-9-2-2.
Which route will the Oilers find themselves on in the coming months? Only time will tell. All I can say for Oilers fans right now, enjoy the moment.