If the Stanley Cup playoffs were to begin now, Connor McDavid and the other Edmonton Oilers players would be watching them well settled at home, an outcome they intend to avoid at all costs by enjoying a fair amount of success between now and rest of the season.
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Head coach Jay Woodcroft’s squad sits ninth in the National Hockey League’s Western Conference, one point behind the Calgary Flames, their big provincial rivals they were scheduled to face Tuesday night. While their 18-15-2 record isn’t bad on its own, it’ll take more to sneak into the playoffs. This return should also be higher, considering that the Oilers bet on McDavid, first in the circuit with 66 points.
The lack of consistency is a factor explaining the mixed performance of the club. There have certainly been seven wins in the first 10 games of the regular schedule, but there has also been a diametrically opposed streak of three wins in 10 games. Recently, they dropped the flag to the Anaheim Ducks, Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues, three teams that would not make the playoffs under the current standings.
“Last year we had a great start. [16 triomphes dans les 21 premiers affrontements] to then fall into a ravine in the middle of the countryside. We found ourselves at the same point as now. This time it was a lot of ups and downs, like a roller coaster. These are two separate ways to achieve the same result,” McDavid told the Edmonton Sun.
“We win two, we lose two and so on. It’s different, but we’re in the same place and we have to find a way to play the right way and avoid giving away wins. We wanted to start the Christmas break in good spirits and that was not the case, ”lamented winger Zach Hyman.
A cure?
So there are 47 games left for the Oilers to get back on the path to success and stay there. What will it take to get there? Offense isn’t a problem, with Edmonton holding third place in the league with an average of 3.60 goals scored per game. In defense, the story is different: the team is in 24th place with 3.46 goals against.
“We need to be better and more consistent defensively,” forward Derek Ryan said. I don’t think scoring is an issue here. I’ve said it a million times. We have to work to play better in defense and it’s not just the story of the backs. It concerns the attackers, everyone, in fact.
After their time in Calgary, McDavid and his acolytes will visit the Seattle Kraken on Friday before hosting the Winnipeg Jets to conclude 2022 on Saturday.