Remember when the Edmonton Oilers sucked, and we all criticized them? Yeah, well, that was justified. But the schedule didn’t do them any favours.

That was one of the worst schedules we’ve seen in a long time. Multiple four-game road trips. A seven-game eastern swing through exclusively Eastern Conference opponents. Six time-zone changes in roughly 14 days. The Oilers were ranked sixth in the league for the most challenging schedule early in the season, based on travel, back-to-back games, and quality of opponents.

And now it’s past.

This is the reward. Six home games in eight days. Time to practice. Time to rest. Time to figure out what this team actually is when they’re not living in hotels and changing time zones every three days.

The Oilers finished their five-game road trip 3-2-0 earlier this month. They’ve gone 5-2-1 in their past eight games overall. Connor McDavid has 23 points during a ten-game point streak. Leon Draisaitl hit 1,000 career points. The power play is ranked as one of the best in the league. Everything seems to be coming together at exactly the right time.

Maybe this is the Oilers we’ll see from now on. Maybe the brutal early schedule was masking what they actually are—a team that can dominate when given proper rest and preparation. Maybe all those losses to Buffalo, Nashville, and Columbus were just the cost of surviving the toughest stretch of the season.

Or maybe the recent success is simply a product of more home games against beatable opponents. It’s hard to know until they sustain it.

But first, Calgary.

The Flames sit outside the playoff picture, five points back of a wild-card spot with 48 games remaining. They’re 15-17-4 and have lost six of their last eight. This should be a comfortable win for Edmonton, especially at home, where they’ve been rolling lately.

Except Calgary can still surprise. They beat Vegas 6-3 on Saturday night. They’ve got young players who can score. Dustin Wolf has been solid in net. And it’s the Battle of Alberta, which means records don’t always matter when these two teams play.

The Oilers are 18-13-6 and have climbed back into a playoff spot after their rough start. They’ve survived the worst of their schedule. They’ve won at home consistently over the past two weeks. They look like a team that’s finally figured something out.

Tonight against Calgary, they get a chance to prove the recent success isn’t a fluke. That the schedule really was the problem. That this version of the Oilers, the one playing at Rogers Place with proper rest and preparation, is who they are.

The reward for surviving that brutal schedule is this: more home games, better matchups, and a fair NHL schedule.

Calgary comes to town tonight. Then, Edmonton goes right back at it on Thursday for game two of this holiday special.

Nugent-Hopkins – McDavid – Hyman
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Roslovic
Mangiapane -Henrique – Savoie
Jones – Frederic – Janmark

Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Regula
Stastney – Emberson

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You can watch the game on Sportsnet West, with the broadcast starting at 7 PM MT.