What a Ride…

Man, as much as I want to be upset about the result of last night’s game I can’t help but feel good about it and be proud of how far this team has come.

Over the past 10 years, Oilers fans have felt every emotion on the scale that ranges from pure bliss to chronic disappointment. The fact that we’ve made it through that darkness and walked out clean on the other end seems like an unlikely outcome for so long. Think about it. Most people didn’t even expect the Oilers to make the playoffs, let alone get to Game 7 in the second round. That’s a huge turnaround from finishing in 29th place only a year ago.

This season, Oilers fans were treated to a buffet of highs and lows that most other NHL fans couldn’t even begin to comprehend. It’s been 10 seasons since we’ve been sad about a playoff loss. TEN YEARS! At the beginning of the season, no one expected the Oilers to do much of anything, because why would they? Edmonton has been so bad for so long that seeing them finish outside of the playoffs was almost expected, so when they were finally invited to the playoff dance even that alone was a reason to celebrate.

Even though losing Game 7 is going to sting for a while, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the future. For years, this team sold hope for better days as the main reason to stick with the countless rebuilds, but finally seeing some results after all that waiting makes this run even more special. Not to mention, the winning is intoxicating. Seeing the Oilers march through the regular season and into the second round of the playoffs was way more satisfying than any draft lottery could ever be (McDavid draft aside, of course).

At the end of the day, we didn’t get the result we were after but that’s okay. For the first time in 10 seasons, the Edmonton Oilers were a damned good hockey team that put the league on notice for something other than draft lotteries, and that’s a drastic change of pace from what we’re all used to. As much as it sucks that we’re not talking about Round three against Nashville, I can take a lot of satisfaction in knowing that the Edmonton Oilers are on the way up and, for the first time in a long time, that has nothing to do with selling hope.

Bring on #MISSION18