Oilers now 13-12-1: THE THREAD THAT'S FUN FOR EVERYONE

[Jumptheshark]

This thread is so wild.

inb4 it gets locked by the mods.

Nope. Mods are enjoying thread and are waiting to see what happens when the Oilers lose one game

 

[Frank Drebin]

Nope. Mods are enjoying thread and are waiting to see what happens when the Oilers lose one game

Ain't happening

 

[GhostfaceWu]

@Tobias Kahun @La Bamba I was just having fun with a conversation I had in this thread a couple days ago.

I realize point pace doesn't mean much when half of your season to date was terrible hockey.

Didn't realize this was a Montreal thread.

 

[Oilslick941611]

How are the Blues out of it? They're one point out. The pace will fluctuate, of course.

Pace isn't an absolute predictor because the trade deadline changes teams and injuries can derail some seasons. If all teams were guaranteed to be healthy and ice the same roster from start to finish, then yes.

The Oilers have, however, ruined their chance of going on an extended losing streak and still making the playoffs.

Edit: To your edit - how am I splitting hairs? The Oilers themselves argued Cup or Bust. If anything other than a Cup is a bust - it's pretty straightforward. However, fans are changing the definition of bust for argument sake - which is ridiculous.

How's that looking now? Oilers have now leaped the blues and have 2 games in hand over them. 1 point out of a WC pace.


How's that pace looking now?

 

[ricky0034]

it always amazes me just how consistent McDavid is about getting at least 2 points every single game

 

[Coffey]

@Bear of Bad News time to update the thread title and play La Bamba

 

[Devonator]

And just like that, the Oilers are now above .500.......how many times do people never learn....never write off a team based on early play.....

 

[mkatcherin00]

I don't get why this thread is still a thing. Thank you to whoever made it though.

Lots of tears going on now. Deep down inside, they were just hoping that an injured McDavid/Ekholm team was going to stay down on the mat.

 

[ricky0034]

And just like that, the Oilers are now above .500.......how many times do people never learn....never write off a team based on early play.....

eh it went on long enough that they were digging themselves a genuine points hole

they turned it around quickly enough that it wasn't quite enough to put them fully out of it and this 8 game winning streak has them back in the mix for a wildcard spot now but even now they're still well behind the top 3 in their division

 

[TheNumber4]

First 60 pages in shambles. That’s 8 in a row. Don’t tell me about pace on the year, our pace is light speed now.

 

[Cup or Bust]

A few weeks ago I was hoping the Oilers would be over .500 by early January and I thought they would still have a chance to make the playoffs. Definitely never thought it would happen in a few weeks.

I am more impressed with how they are playing more then the winning streak.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Oiler fans know full well that certain posters are laying in wait

 

[Frank Drebin]

Didn't realize this was a Montreal thread.

You can keep on not realizing that

 

[SoundAndFury]

Robid'ing Campbell was definitely the right call. Can't be successful with goalie basically sabotaging you.

 

[LevelingSolo]

Woodcroft lost the room

 

[JarvisFunk]

Woodcroft lost the room

They way Knoblauch and Coffey have the team rolling... Definitely was the right call.

But ultimately Campbell and Skinner's early play lost Woodcroft his job. They lost the room by the end of the first period every night.

 

[jcs0218]

I always thought the Oilers would recover.

People were writing them off after 15 games.

They have too much top-end talent in a league full of mediocre teams for people to write them off after 15 games.

 

[McFlyingV]

NHL Playoff Odds -MoneyPuck 2025 Playoff & Cup Odds

NHL Playoff Odds updated many times a day. Stanley Cup Odds, Playoff seeding, and Draft Lottery Odds

moneypuck.com

This site has them at 82.7% - higher than Toronto.

Not overly surprising to see those odds. They're 1 point out of a playoff spot with 2 games in hand, and they have the #1 xGF% at 5 on 5 in the league, while having a PP that is ranked #1 the past 4 years.

Can't really explain their start this year, but this is an elite hockey team. Hopefully their good defensive play and goaltending holds up.

 

[mkatcherin00]

Oilers after 26 games last year: 14-12-0= 28 points

Oilers after 26 games this year: 13-12-1= 27 points

 

[McFlyingV]

eh it went on long enough that they were digging themselves a genuine points hole

they turned it around quickly enough that it wasn't quite enough to put them fully out of it and this 8 game winning streak has them back in the mix for a wildcard spot now but even now they're still well behind the top 3 in their division

12 back of Van with 3 games in hand isn't that big of a hole with almost 60 games to play.

 

[ORRFForever]

Not overly surprising to see those odds. They're 1 point out of a playoff spot with 2 games in hand, and they have the #1 xGF% at 5 on 5 in the league, while having a PP that is ranked #1 the past 4 years.

Can't really explain their start this year, but this is an elite hockey team. Hopefully their good defensive play and goaltending holds up.

The difficulty of the schedule also affects the percentage. Perhaps Edmonton's toughest games are behind them?

 

[McFlash97]

Woodcroft was a good coach when he was humble and honest. Towards the end there, he was cocky and arrogant.

It started in the playoffs by not playing the hot hand against Vegas. He cost them a cup. Oilers had that series against Vegas. Woodcroft decided that he was smarter than everyone else.

Then he came into the season, didn't really arrive early, changed the system and didn't take preseason seriously, was arrogant and a know it all in some of his interviews.

As soon ad shxx hit the fan, him and Manson had no answers. It was a good change.

 

[DegeN9]

Oiler fans know full well that certain posters are laying in wait

Tucked into their race car beds. Popping into the GDT on mommys iPad every once in a while to tell everyone how bad the Oilers opponent is playing so we all know they aren’t winning on their own merit.

 

[Sanderson]

Robid'ing Campbell was definitely the right call. Can't be successful with goalie basically sabotaging you.

That seems a bit over the top. Campbell only played five games this season, and while his stats were bad, the exact same thing could be said about Skinner, who wasn't winning any games either. Not to mention that Campbell not playing well didn't stop the Oilers from winning games with him last year.

The main difference is that the Oilers are playing mostly coherent defense now, and don't allow a ridiculous amount of breaks anymore either. The team didn't fail before because the goalies sunk them, they failed because the team-defense was a complete desaster. It more or less became a vicious circle. Goalies were left to fend for themselves, causing them to lose confidence, which in turn made the team play even more nervous in front of them, which made things even worse for the goalies, and so on. Note how Campbell came back this summer and played great in the pre-season and completely bailed out the team in game three against Nashville. He just faltered quickly when the team as a whole didn't work, and so did Skinner.

 

[fsanford]

The NHL gave them a nice home stand and they are taking advantage. 1 short flight to Winnipeg, and the rest at home over 3 weeks.