There are now just five games remaining in the schedule for the Edmonton Oilers and we pretty much know where the team is going to finish in the standings and who they’re going to play in the first round of the playoffs. As the regular season winds down, so do the reasons to watch this team.
That might sound harsh considering I write for a website that covers the Edmonton Oilers and for an hour a day, I host a live show that talks almost exclusively about the team, but I do not remember a time when I’ve just wanted to skip through five games more than right now.
The team is all but locked into third place in the Pacific Division barring some sort of remarkable collapse by either the Vegas Golden Knights or Los Angeles Kings. They really can’t move from their current spot regardless of if they were to go 5-0-0 or 0-5-0.
That means they likely won’t be rushing anyone back from injury, which is another thing that’s really putting a damper on their final few games.
Both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are out of the lineup at the same time for basically the first time in their NHL careers, the team is missing a handful of key support pieces including deadline addition Trent Frederic, who you’d love to see start to develop some chemistry with his new teammates before the games really start to matter.
They don’t really have any young players that you’re excited to see get some opportunities either, which would have been something to look forward to at this time last year.
So, why should we tune in? Well, despite my doom and gloom start to this blog, I’m about to give you a few things to watch for as the Oilers work towards the end of their regular season schedule.
1 – SUPPORT PLAYERS GETTING HOT
Adam Henrique scored his eleventh of the season against the Ducks, Viktor Arvidsson had scored in three straight games before the team got shutout against the Ducks and even Connor Brown has found the back of the net recently.
With the two big guns out of the lineup, there are some support players being asked to take on bigger roles.
Call it a weird sort of silver lining to all the injuries but if players like the three I mentioned above and even guys like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jeff Skinner can start to gain a little bit of confidence heading into the playoffs, the Oilers’ forward group will start to look really scary.
These next five games will also be a bit of a tryout for players like Skinner, Brown, Janmark, and even Podkolzin. If McDavid, Draisaitl, Frederic, and Kane are all going to be added in for night one of the playoffs, then three players need to come out of the lineup we saw last night vs the Ducks.
Max Jones and Kasperi Kapanen seem to be obvious options but one more needs to be sitting if everyone else is healthy.
Those players I mentioned have five games to prove to this coaching staff that they can be trusted in the playoffs.
Apr 3, 2025; San Jose, California, USA; Edmonton Oilers goaltender Calvin Pickard (30) makes a save against the San Jose Sharks in the third period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images
2 – WHAT HAPPENS BETWEEN THE PIPES
If the playoffs started today and everyone was healthy, I have no doubt that Stuart Skinner would be the Oilers’ Game 1 starter.
However, the playoffs do not start today and Skinner has not started a game since March 26th. On top of that, he allowed 3+ goals in four of his last five starts before getting hurt, whereas Calvin Pickard has stepped up in his absence and allowed under three goals against in four of his last five starts.
Jason Gregor reported yesterday that Skinner could be in a position to play games by the end of the week and it’s very important for him to deliver a few solid starts before the end of the regular season.
Skinner without a doubt has the higher ceiling of the two and he deserves the benefit of the doubt if the gap is close, if he struggles in his return to the lineup and Pickard puts up a few more solid starts, then there is a serious conversation to be had.
For now, it’s a ‘what if’ but these final five games could change who the Oilers starter is on night one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
3 – THE D-PAIRS GETTING SORTED OUT
Since acquiring Jake Walman at the Trade Deadline, Mattias Ekholm has missed all but four games. There haven’t been very many opportunities for the Oilers coaching staff to put together their ideal pairings.
NHL Sid wrote a great piece earlier in the week about what he believes should be the ideal pairings for the Oilers heading into the playoffs and you should give it a read.
I agree with Sid that putting Walman with Darnell Nurse is the right course of action, with Brett Kulak getting some shifts with Nurse in close games.
I would just like to see Nurse and Walman get a handful of games together down the stretch so they can develop a little bit of chemistry and the Oilers coaching staff really only seems to want to do that if Ekholm is available to play on a pair with Bouchard.
I’d love to see the Oilers have all six defensemen available for at least a few games before the end of the season so we can see how this group works together when fully healthy. It’s a small thing, but it’s still something I want to see.
Again, there is not a lot for the Oilers to play for, but they need to continue to ramp up their intensity level and take some of the mistakes out of their game. All while staying healthy.
We’ll all watch because we’re sickos, but the only thing that really matters in these next five games is making sure that the team starts to play the right style of hockey and the coaching staff gets some answers to some big questions.
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