A fancy stat just came out and you’re all going to want to listen carefully. Just like in the 2016-17 season, the Edmonton Oilers will have one of the easiest schedules in the league this year and I’m really excited about it.
This is based on the games the team plays against tired teams (who played the night before) while rested (who didn’t play the night before), and games the team plays against rested teams while tired. Still with me? Look at this graph!
But actually, please look at this graph below.
The graph is from IneffectiveMath on Twitter. Out of the 82 game schedule, there are 18 games where the Oilers are playing a tired team while rested. They also have only eight games where they are playing a rested team while tired. Cool, right?
It’s cool because the next closest team who plays a tired team while rested, is the Coyotes with 14. There are only eight other teams who play a rested team while tired less than the Oilers. If you ask me, this is very good for the team. We need all the help we can get this season, and not having to play rested teams while we’re tired is a step in the right direction. Is this enough for us to win the Stanley Cup? No. But it’s a start, and an interesting stat as well.
An easy schedule benefited the Oilers two years ago too. They will make the playoffs this year.
The Oil will miss the play-offs next year by one point.
Not if they have good goaltending……….. Oh S%$t.
Intern wrote this, so fake news.
I HAVE GOOD SOURCES, SOUNDWAVE
Oh now we’re at ease. The INTERN has sources.
How the source isn’t Frank Seravalli
How did Betman let this happen?
You just wanted use that video.
And they’ll still miss the playoffs.
Won’t amount to a hill of beans if they don’t win most of them.
Shhhhhh. Don’t tell the Oilers.
Even if you put a lot of weight in the rested/tired angle, which I don’t, this aspect accounts for just 26 out of 82 games. Who they play and team health, as well as that of the opponent, at the time of any given game will have a more significant impact.
This response is far too rational.
Yea Robin, quit asserting your logic rhetoric into our puny brains. After all, we are all just tier 3 Oilers fans (Thanks Kevin Lowe), we take all optimism and get hyped just to be disappointed by another lack-luster game/season.
We can dare to dream, can’t we?
Brownlee with the SMACK DOWN 😝
I WAS excited for our “easy” schedule 😉
I dunno. If it leads to just 3 more wins than would have occurred if they had an average schedule…that’s significant
Not with this roster.
Two years ago their schedule was a fairly consistent one with games seemingly every other night and they seemed to find a good rhythm- this allowed Talbot to play 70+ games and play well doing it.
Last year there were long gaps between games and they looked lost as a team early on. The “easy” schedule this year doesn’t consider Europe or any other gaps but if it leads to a few extra wins I think we’ll count it as a positive thing.
Oilers need to tread water and get through a hellacious October schedule – if they can do that, things will be looking up.
I think they can.
Yeah going overseas to start the season will be tricky, while good for team building( hope nobody punches anyone out). It can be a tough travel period. I’m optimistic and think we will do better. Talbots will be better
Probably balances out given the fact they have the worst travel of any team in the NHL.
No they don’t – the Canucks do, by quite a bit.
The magic of the Oilers over the years has always been finding ways to turn something easy into something hard. Get up for the good teams, nap against the bad ones.
Just get your butts out there and play.
I also question this rest thing. If the Oilers played B2B, 1 day off, then play the next day against a team that just had 3 days off and is on their 2nd of B2B, is that really a huge advantage? Oilers playing 3rd in 4 days, other guys 2nd in 5 days. That happend a lot 2 years ago when someone said we had an “easy” schedule, yet we played the 2nd most games of any team in the first couple months of the season and were exhausted by December. Basically playing every 2nd day non-stop for 2 months Yet, people said it was easy.
Who cares about the schedule. They are paid to play, period. If they aren’t giving 100% every night then bench the losers.
I’d like to see the league (and Oilers) record for “playing a tired team while rested” – does it matter that much across the league (I suspect yes), but how have the Oilers fared the last few seasons with this advantage?
Would be neat for someone to track this stat this season and update every so often in a “How is that easy schedule going?” update.
How much effect does this rating scale have on final standings. Send me the data and I’ll tell you.