Published Dec 20, 2023<\/span> \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/span><\/p>\n Is it unnecessary fear-mongering to suggest the Edmonton Oilers season could be over by the new year?<\/p>\n Or is their situation really that grave?<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n What can we make of a 13th place team that\u2019s coming off an eight-game winning streak?<\/p>\n Just one week ago they were the hottest team in the NHL, looking very much like they had finally figured things out, and seemed ready for a playoff charge.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n REGISTER TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Today, they are seven points out of the last wildcard spot, playing whack-a-mole with their problems, and the season is back to being in jeopardy.<\/p>\n So which team is it? The naughty one, or the nice one?<\/p>\n In the spirit of Christmas, here is a look at both perspectives \u2014 reasons to believe the Oilers will rise up and salvage the year (nice) and reasons to believe this will go down as the most disappointing regular season in franchise history (naughty).<\/p>\n NICE:<\/strong> Games in hand. Yes, the Oilers are seven points back, but they also had a lull in the schedule where they played just two games in nine days, allowing the rest of the playoff chasers to pull away. They have four games in hand on Seattle, three on Calgary, two on Arizona and Seattle and one on Minnesota. Of course, games in hand only matter if you win them, but they\u2019re an opportunity to close the gap.<\/p>\n NAUGHTY:<\/strong> Too many teams ahead of them. This was the concern when they fired Jay Woodcroft after 13 games and it still is today. Eight points back with 69 games to play sounds like nothing, but having to overtake seven teams means swimming upstream for six months. The Oilers just had their best push of the season, eight-straight wins, and a week later they are right back to being seven points back. They gained one point and passed two teams in five weeks.<\/p>\n Headline News<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n NICE:<\/strong> They just won eight straight! They won nine straight to finish last season. That\u2019s two crazy-long runs in the last 38 games. If any team is capable of getting hot and staying hot it\u2019s the Oilers. They were just about dead and buried a month ago, sitting in 30th place, and three weeks later they were one win away from moving into a wildcard spot.<\/p>\n NAUGHTY:<\/strong> The Oilers are on the road for nine of 11 games between Dec. 19 and Jan. 13. That\u2019s a long time, especially for a team that isn\u2019t good on the road. Edmonton is 4-9 away from home this year, so if that winning percentage holds they will finish the nine-game journey at 3-6. That means losing ground and they can\u2019t afford to do any more of that.<\/p>\n NICE:<\/strong> Connor McDavid. We know from eight years of experience that even a generational superstar can\u2019t do it alone, but he can sure help. The guy had 22 points in eight games to bring the Oilers back to life once this season, there is no reason to believe he can\u2019t do it again.<\/p>\n NAUGHTY:<\/strong> Whack a mole problems. They deserved to beat Tampa but the goaltending let them down. They lacked urgency around both nets against Florida. They played well against the Islanders but their special teams collapsed. It\u2019s like the golfer trying to break 90. \u201cI played really well today except my putting was brutal. I putted well today but my driver was wild. I drove and putted well but I was horrible with the short irons. Sometimes it just means you\u2019re not a very good golfer.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n NICE:<\/strong> There\u2019s lots of time left. With 53 games to be played, there are still 106 points on the table and a handful of head-to-head showdowns with the teams they need to catch. The Oilers don\u2019t quite control their own destiny yet, but all it\u2019s going to take is a couple of solid hot stretches mixed in with some consistency and they\u2019re back in the hunt.<\/p>\n NAUGHTY:<\/strong> They aren\u2019t consistent. Just 29 games into the season they\u2019ve already had a pair of four-game losing streaks and a pair of three-game losing streaks. If good teams don\u2019t lose two in a row, what do those slumps say about the Oilers?<\/p>\n NICE:<\/strong> Some important players are slumping. That\u2019s a bad thing if you look at the standings, but it also means there is plenty of upside to this equation. If Leon Draisaitl starts producing at even strength, if Evander Kane finds the scoring touch again after seven goals in seven games in November, if Ryan McLeod ever starts digging in offensively and if Connor Brown (one assist in 23 games) ever does anything even remotely productive, the Oilers will be able to turn the tide in some of these tight games.<\/p>\n NAUGHTY:<\/strong> People keep saying this is too good a team to miss the playoffs, but that argument is thinning out. When you\u2019re 29 games into the season, you are what your record says you are and the Oilers are a 13th place team playing .466 hockey.<\/p>\n E-mail:\u00a0rtychkowski@postmedia.com<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n![\"Vincent](\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/edmontonjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/1868815517.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=288&h=216&sig=H6RRV4OscUXWRYFxDIuqiA\" "\\"\\"")
Vincent Desharnais #73 and Stuart Skinner #74 of the Edmonton Oilers defend the net against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023 in Elmont, New York.<\/span> Photo by Bruce Bennett<\/span> \/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\nArticle content<\/h2>\n
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