After a slower start to the season, Brayden Point was playing like an Olympian the past month with eight goals and 19 points in 15 games.

He was looking like the player that Team Canada had listed as one of the original six players to the 2026 Olympic team. In the three previous seasons, Point led all Canadian players in goals with 139 and was fifth in points with 267. He can be a difference maker, but a knee injury in the second period of Monday’s game v. Philadelphia has Point’s Olympic availability in question.

Canada’s first game is February 12th, and players will be leaving for Milan the weekend of February 6th. The play where he got injured doesn’t give you confidence that he can return in time.

I hope he can. The Olympics are a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many athletes. Point had made the team and deserved to be going. His head coach Jon Cooper gave an update on his status yesterday.

“We avoided the worst-case scenario. His season is not over. But he is week to week.”

Week to week is rarely only two or three weeks. Point will do everything in his power to try and be healthy enough to play, but Team Canada will be discussing options in case he can’t go, and if Point can’t go, Zach Hyman’s recent play should have him in the discussion to replace him.

Hyman missed the first month of the season recovering from a wrist injury he suffered in the Western Conference Final last May. Hyman took a few weeks to get up to speed, but since December 1st Hyman has played very well, and he’s been one of the most productive Canadian forwards in the NHL.

Hyman is fifth in points with 23 and he is third in goals with 15. The top four scorers — Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Macklin Celebrini and Mark Stone — are already on the team. Hyman, Sam Bennett, Mark Schiefele, Steven Stamkos, Wyatt Johnston, Travis Konecny and Seth Jarvis are options to replace Point. Despite having a good run from December 1st, I don’t think Stamkos is a legitimate option due to his age and speed.

Bennett, Konecny and Jarvis were on the 4-Nations teams, and they will be considered. Konecny has 9-10-19 since December 1st while Jarvis has scored 6-5-11. Jarvis and Konecny didn’t play a lot at 4 Nations, and that might hurt their cause. I was a bit surprised Bennett wasn’t listed as one of the 14 forwards on the Olympic team. He was excellent at 4 Nations, and played even better in the Stanley Cup playoffs scoring 16 goals to help Florida win their second consecutive Championship. He’s proven he can produce in pressure situations, and that might give him the inside track on Hyman.

However, the advantage Hyman has on Bennett, Johnston and Schiefele is he can produce while playing with McDavid. Not every player can, and in a short tournament like the Olympics finding chemistry can be the key to victory. I had Point and Celebrini starting the tournament on a line with McDavid, with Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Sam Reinhart on the second line. That trio had success at 4 Nations, so I’d keep them together.

McDavid had various wingers at 4-Nations, and Cooper kept trying different combinations. Mark Stone and Mitch Marner had stints with him, but none were overly productive. Granted it was only a few games, but if Cooper is looking for a winger who can play with McDavid, the best option right now is Hyman.

Hyman and McDavid work well together. They know how to read off one another, and Celebrini on the left wing could make for a very dangerous trio. Celebrini brings a lot of speed and smarts.

Ideally, Point recovers and is able to represent Canada. I’d never want to see a player miss the Olympics due to an injury, not to mention he’s a hell of a player, but if he can’t go, Hyman’s recent play should put him in the conversation.

This is the last challenging week, schedule wise, for the Oilers this season. They played Saturday in Edmonton, then in Chicago and Nashville on Monday and Tuesday, they host the Islanders tomorrow, then are in Vancouver on Saturday and back home to face St. Louis on Sunday. Playing six games in nine days is not easy, but if the Oilers can win two of their next three games, their remaining schedule after Sunday is very favourable.

After they play the Blues, the Oilers play six games in the final 13 days of January, and all six are on home ice. They play New Jersey, Pittsburgh, Washington, Anaheim, San Jose and Minnesota. The Wild are the only team ahead of them in the standings, and they face the Devils, Penguins, Capitals and Ducks when they are playing their third game in four nights and the second half of back-to-back games. Those are clear schedule advantages and Edmonton needs to exploit them.

In February they only play five games. They have two days off after facing Minnesota before they host Toronto on the 3rd and then play in Calgary on the 4th. Toronto will be playing its third game in four nights and second half of a back-to-back. Another schedule advantage.

Edmonton returns from the Olympic break with a three-game road trip in Anaheim, LA and San Jose. The Oilers and Ducks will each be playing their first games. The next night, February 26th, the Oilers play the Kings, but LA will also be playing the second night of a back-to-back. There is no disadvantage/advantage for either team, as the Oilers bus back to their hotel after the Anaheim game. The Oilers do play Saturday afternoon in San Jose, and that will be a schedule advantage for the Sharks as the Oilers will be on their third game in four nights, but the majority of Oilers will have had a three-week break, so fatigue won’t be as much as when teams are playing three in four nights in January.

The Oilers play 14 games in March, with eight of them at home. They will return home on February 28th from San Jose by 9 p.m. as they play the Sharks in the afternoon. Then they have two days off before hosting Ottawa then another two days off before hosting Carolina, who will be playing their fourth game in six nights, on March 6th.

Then the Oilers embark on a four-game road trip to Vegas, Colorado, Dallas and St. Louis. That will be challenging, but Vegas will be playing its fourth game in six days, while the Oilers will be playing their second. Edmonton and Colorado play the same nights the six previous days when they meet, so no real advantage rest wise. Same with Dallas who will have played the Friday, Sunday, Tuesday before facing the Oilers on Thursday. The difference is the Stars will be playing their fourth consecutive home game, so a travel advantage for them. The last game in St. Louis, the Oilers are playing their third game in four nights and the second half of a BTB, but luckily for them so will St. Louis as the Blues host the Islanders on the 10th, play in Carolina on the 12th and host Edmonton on the 13th. Travel from Carolina to St. Louis is virtually the same as Dallas to St.Louis, so the Oilers won’t have a clear travel disadvantage.

The Oilers return home for four games on the 15th, 17th, 19th and 21st. They host the Predators on the 15th, and Edmonton has the travel/rest disadvantage as they will be playing their third game in four nights, while the Predators are in the midst of an odd five-games in 11 day road trip. They have two games between games twice on the trip, including two days before facing Edmonton. They face the Sharks who will be playing their final game of a five-game road trip, then Florida, who will have played the same Sunday, Tuesday schedule before their Thursday game in Edmonton, and then Tampa Bay has the same game every second day schedule leading up to their Saturday game.

The Oilers then get two days off before a short two-game road trip in Utah and Vegas on Tuesday the 24th and Thursday the 26th. No real disadvantage in Utah, while Vegas will be returning home from a road trip and playing their fourth game in six nights when the face Edmonton. The Oilers will have the rest advantage and less travel as they come from Utah, while Vegas returns home from Winnipeg.

The Oilers end the month with home games on Saturday the 28th v. Anaheim and Tuesday the 31st v. Seattle. The Ducks are starting a road trip, but Seattle will be playing their final game of a six-game road trip that started in Nashville and went to Columbus, Florida, Tampa, Buffalo and Edmonton. Not an easy trip.

The Oilers end the season with only seven games in the first 16 days of April. They host Chicago on the 2nd and Vegas on the 4th. It will be Chicago’s fifth game in eight days in five different cities while Vegas has no noticeable scheduling challenge. The Oilers have two days off before playing in Utah on the 7th and San Jose on the 8th. Utah has same schedule leading up so both will be rested, but San Jose will be playing their final game of a six-game homestand and their fifth game in eight days. The Oilers have two days off before their final road game of the season in LA. It is an afternoon game, and it is the Kings final game of a seven-game homestand. Will it have playoff seeding implications that could lead to a fifth consecutive playoff meeting between the two teams?

Then Edmonton finishes their season with home games versus Colorado (Monday the 13th) and Vancouver (Thursday the 16th). No real schedule advantages for the Oilers, but Colorado might have zero to play for and Vancouver will be planning their golf trips, so if the Oilers need to win games the opportunity will be there.

The Oilers’ 50th game of the season is this coming Sunday v. St. Louis. It will be the end of a tougher stretch, but the final 32 games set up very well for the Oilers. It will be up to them to take advantage of it.

They play 19 at home and 13 on the road.

They only have four sets of back-to-back games and only three times will they play a third game in four nights.

They play nine games v. teams currently ahead of them in the standings. Home to Carolina, Minnesota, Colorado, Tampa Bay and Vegas and road games in Vegas (2x), Colorado and Dallas.

Three games against Vegas will have a big impact on who wins the Pacific division.

The other 23 games are against teams below them in the standings.

The Oilers need to grind through the rest of this week, because after that their schedule is much more favourable and if they find some consistency, they should have a strong final 32 games and be rested when the playoffs begin.