Let’s Talk Positive
6 years ago
Even after an impressive win against the Boston Bruins, the mood around the Edmonton Oilers has been rather negative, and there’s good reason for that negativity. The team sits six points back of the second wild-card spot and needs to jump five other teams to get there, all of whom have played fewer games than them.
Doom and gloom have taken over the fan base, so in a time where our lives as fans are filled with “bloggers vs mainstream media,” former players voicing their opinions, and we’re starting to see an ever-growing “Fire Peter Chiarelli” campaign. With that in mind, I decided to try sprinkling a little positivity into things.
This might come off as blind loyalty or just some homer blogger spewing his opinion, but I’m an optimistic person by nature so I thought why not try and spread a little hope across Oilersnation (we all know that we need it).
Here are my reasons why we shouldn’t give up on this season quite yet:
HEALTH
Mar 23, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Edmonton Oilers defenseman Andrej Sekera (2) attempts a shot on goal in the first period against the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
We are no longer months away from an Andrej Sekera return to the line. Actually, it’s sounding like we’re closer to days rather than months. When Sekera comes back, he should take away some of the extra pressure that’s falling on Oscar Klefbom and possibly seven help a player like Darnell Nurse to have even more success. Sekera ate big minutes for this team last year, and having him back in the lineup won’t only have a strong impact on the other five regular defenders, but it might help Cam Talbot as well.
Then there’s that nasty flu bug that is apparently still lingering around the team.
When Sportsnet replayed Game 5 vs San Jose from last year’s playoffs, I saw versions of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and plenty of other players that were much much more dominant than the versions we’re seeing now. Hopefully, once that nasty bug is out of the room, we’ll see those same players return to the levels we saw down the stretch last year.
THE ROAD AHEAD
Nov 5, 2017; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) skates with the puck as Detroit Red Wings defensemen Jonathan Ericsson (52) and Detroit Red Wings defensemen Trevor Daley (83) defend during the first period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
The Oilers have 58 games remaining this year with 26 of those being against teams in their own division, and 15 more being against the other seven Western Conference teams. That’s roughly 71% of their remaining games, which is good for a couple of reasons.
First off, beating teams in the West was their bread and butter last year. Against their own division, the Oilers boasted a 0.690 winning percentage and when you add in the games against the Central, that winning percentage sits at 0.660.
All these games against their own division and conference give them a great chance to win those big “four-point games” which would be needed to crawl over the five teams separating them and the final playoff spot. Of course, this still requires the Oilers to start playing better hockey, but historically this group has shown that they’re fully capable of beating their conference foes.
THE NUMBERS
I’m by no means a numbers expert, but l took a look at a few stats that could point to an Oilers turn around.
There’s always a chance that these numbers don’t turn around and are a result of the Oilers poor play to date, but there’s also a chance that they turn it around and we see these numbers rise back up to the middle of the pack as their puck luck improves.
One other thing to note, of the six teams ahead of the Oilers in the Pacific Division, three of them have either their SH% or overall PDO in the top ten of the league. None of them have a worse PDO and only San Jose’s SH% is lower than what’s happening in Edmonton. That means there is a possibility for the Oilers to see their numbers rise while the other teams in the division could see a slip. Am I reaching a little? Sure. But we’re trying to be positive here.
There’s also the fact that the Pacific Division is somehow still wide open. The Golden Knights are in first place, but they have a bunch of expiring contracts that they’ll want to move for other assets and could fall off any day. Elsewhere, the LA Kings are currently in second place but are 3-6-1 in their last ten. The Flames and Sharks look like sustainable playoff teams. There’s also a surprisingly successful Canucks team who are just six points ahead of the Oilers and a Ducks squad missing their two best centres.
Basically, I’m saying that the teams ahead of the Oilers aren’t exactly world beaters.
I’m not going to sit here and tell say it’s a lock that the Oilers turn this thing around and make the playoffs, but there are reasons to have hope. Plus, aren’t scenarios like these why we love sports? Would you want to see a Cinderella story of this team crawling out of the basement and rising back to the top? We want that miracle story. I certainly do.
All I’m saying is to stay positive Oilers fans. Things may seem bleak right now, but we still have Connor McDavid and that means it’s not over yet.
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