The Oilers won 16 straight from Dec. 22 to Jan. 27, coming within one win of tying the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins for the longest NHL winning streak. Prior to that streak, Edmonton won eight consecutive games from Nov. 24 to Dec. 12. The two streaks were separated by a three-game losing streak.
“If you look at late November, things weren’t looking great, but I think we had the belief that we knew we could turn it around and get on a roll here,” Oilers forward Evander Kane said. “We did that and clinched a playoff spot and that’s a nice feeling. Now, we have to try and win some more games to solidify home ice and who knows, maybe climb in the standings.”
Edmonton is second in the Pacific Division, five points ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights and five back of the Vancouver Canucks. It is the fifth consecutive season Edmonton will play in the postseason.
“We really buckled down after a really poor start and there’s a lot of resilience and character in this group,” Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said. “It’s only one step of course, we know that, but it’s a step that we have to do to give yourself a chance (to win Stanley Cup).”
Edmonton was considered a contender to win the Stanley Cup at the start of the season with the same core that was eliminated by the eventual champion the previous two seasons. Edmonton lost in the second round to the Vegas Golden Knights last season and in the Western Conference Final to Colorado in 2022.
“That was the expectation, a minimum requirement was to make the postseason going into training camp,” Kane said. “The fact that we did it, is accomplishing the first step, the first goal that we set out to do. But there is still lots to play for in the regular season here, we want maintain home ice. We have some teams that are right around us that we are playing coming up, Vancouver, Vegas, Colorado, there’s lots left to play for.”
Playing six playoff rounds in the past three seasons, the Oilers feel they are better equipped to go on a lengthy run this season. If the playoffs were to start Saturday, Edmonton would face Vegas in the first round. There is also a possibly the Oilers could meet the Los Angeles Kings in the first round for the third consecutive season.
“I think it’s going to come down to us playing well with whoever we get in the first round,” Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “I do think experience is on our side. We did beat LA last year and we did get the experience of winning a round. We want more, but if you look at how we played tonight against a real good opponent, I think we’ll be tough to beat.”
The Oilers close out the season with a game at the Calgary Flames on Saturday (10 p.m. ET: CBC, SNE, SNO, SNW, TVAS2), then return home to host the Golden Knights, Arizona Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks before concluding the season at Arizona and Colorado.
“I think we’re just kind of finding our groove here, knowing that we need to step it up here in the last few games and going into the playoffs,” Ekholm said. “It’s not just about pushing a button when it starts, but it’s about doing it now.”