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

[Auston Marlander]

I would very much enjoy the Oilers missing, but it 100% won't happen. At worst the squeeze into a wild card. If they were in the East I'd have a different POV, but it's the West... they'll be fine.

 

[J bo Jeans]

Obviously alarm bells are ringing but its only been 6 games... Oilers nearly won their division last year because they were the best team in the second half of the season not the first.

 

[NVious]

McDavid isn't injured, he just got tired of carrying them and will be taking an extended leave of absence so he can fantasize about his inevitable return to Toronto

 

[John Mandalorian]

I agree. That's the key. Division and conference isn't that great.

Edmonton will get in after a slow start. They can plug some holes at trade deadline and play better.

It’s not just McDavid missing time. The switch to zone defense has been rough going for an already shaky defense. If they continue to flounder with the new defense, it’s the type of thing that can lead to a coaching change.

Alternatively, the defense could start to click and a few guys might step up in McDavid’s absence.

 

[AvsFan29]

The pacific is so bad, that they would have to have a seriously bad season to miss the playoffs.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

#Free McDavid #FreeDrySandal

 

[Peasy]

Woodcroft is the 5th coach since McDavid was drafted, 1.5 seasons is about average

I remember Oiler fans goin on about how good of a coach he was too lmao...

 

[HockeyVirus]

The thing most concerning shouldn't be their record, but how. The team from the GM to the coach to McDaviid and his captain skate down acknowledged they need to learn to play team defense to win. And so the system was adjusted, the players are trying to play defensively sound hockey, and they are discovering they just lack the ability to do that.

Their defense and goaltending is too weak to be such an important part of their gameplan. Ekholm's decline and Broberg busting amplify the problem. Instead, they will revert to run and gun play to win games again and start putting up 100000 point seasons again, but once again be ousted by the first team they face in the playoffs that can force them to defend.

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

Nah, I think they will be fine. They might lose home ice, though.

 

[Timeless Winter]

Zero risk. They're in a terrible division. Wouldn't be surprised if they won the western conference. Only thing stopping them is Ken Holland refusing to fix the defense and goaltending.

 

[Vikingstad]

Concerning start yes, but not because the record, more just because they're playing poorly.

FYI here is the record of all teams that made the playoffs last season in October of 2022:

East:
Carolina 6-2-1
New Jersey 6-3-0
NYR 5-3-2

Boston 8-1-0
Toronto 4-4-2
Tampa Bay 5-4-0

NYI 5-4-0
Florida 5-3-1


West:
Colorado 4-4-1
Dallas 5-3-1
Minnesota 4-4-1

Vegas 8-2-1
Edmonton 6-3-0
Los Angeles 6-5-0

Seattle 4-4-2
Winnipeg 5-3-1


Still to early to tell in my opinion. If they string together a little win streak they're no different than most teams last year that made the playoffs

 

[LOFIN]

I don't think they will miss the playoffs, but the division and conference are probably out of reach. That's not just because of their poor start, but Vegas and Colorado look pretty damn good.

 

[tucker3434]

Nah, they could win 9 of their next 10. That’s just who the oilers are. One of these cold snaps will be their undoing in the playoffs. But they’ll get a lot of wins before then.

 

[Muffin]

In fairness six would have been worse. It’s all about how you look at it.

Yea I have a hard time believing they’ll not make it. I don’t necessarily think they’ll go far without seriously good fortune, but worse case they fire their coach at some internally set deadline and someone comes in and kicks players asses

Sometimes players just have an unlucky night but no he was actually responsible for four of the goals against.

 

[MilkofthePoppy]

I have seen worse teams recover from bad starts. They will be alright.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

lol they will still make the playoffs but will get destroyed again in their own end. Those turnovers and leaving guys completely open in the slot with the nearest dman being 20 feet away are their biggest weakness.

 

[J bo Jeans]

The thing most concerning shouldn't be their record, but how. The team from the GM to the coach to McDaviid and his captain skate down acknowledged they need to learn to play team defense to win. And so the system was adjusted, the players are trying to play defensively sound hockey, and they are discovering they just lack the ability to do that.

Their defense and goaltending is too weak to be such an important part of their gameplan. Ekholm's decline and Broberg busting amplify the problem. Instead, they will revert to run and gun play to win games again and start putting up 100000 point seasons again, but once again be ousted by the first team they face in the playoffs that can force them to defend.

I would be very worried if I was an Oilers fan. Hopefully my boy @Tad Mikowsky is doing ok, haven't heard from him the last few weeks.

crazy how many Oilers threads I see you in lmao.

Ousted by the first team to defend lmao?? More like ousted by the best team in the league two years running.

 

[HockeyVirus]

crazy how many Oilers threads I see you in lmao.

Ousted by the first team to defend lmao?? More like ousted by the best team in the league two years running.

I find their games entertaining. Usually little defense played, lots of scoring, and some physicality. As a result of watching so many of their games, I will have a lot of opinions on them

 

[Muffin]

Zero risk. They're in a terrible division. Wouldn't be surprised if they won the western conference. Only thing stopping them is Ken Holland refusing to fix the defense and goaltending.

They're like 10 points behind Colorado and Vegas already. They probably won't miss the playoffs but can't see them winning the West.

 

[Matty Sundin]

They gone through slumps like this is previous seasons and still made it. I think they still do but their defence system needs a complete overhaul.

 

[Dust]

Both teams are a lot different so your point is moot. If Canucks trade Garland and get another top 4D, then they won't have any weaknesses. They are 4-2 and getting contributions from players like Lafferty, Hoglander, and Suter. They get slept on here so much though. I think there will be some surprises this year. Teams like Wings and Vancouver seem very different after their wholesale changes they did in offseason and that trade deadline last year.

This is pretty much every team's thoughts. "If we can just trade away this overpaid and over rated player for an unrealistic return, our team will be great". Problem is that Garland is not returning a top 4D man.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Just relocate them to Houston already….

 

[pcruz]

If McDavid is out for another 3-4 games, they can be looking at a start of 1-7-1 ......


That's not good

 

[Ararana]

That's putting a lot of faith in some of these Pacific teams to not be a pile a shit for once.

 

[King'sPawn]

Way too early in the season to do a post-mortem.