The last time we have seen the Edmonton Oilers emerge at the top of the NHL world was in their success in the 2005-06 season where they went on to drop the title to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games. With the season now winding down to its final games, it does seem that the Oilers can finally make a daring push that would see them sit at the top of the league now more than ever.
Why the Oilers Are Desperate to Win a Championship?
When you have talents such as Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid – two known MVP candidates who have a knack for scoring points, then you can be sure that there is a lot of pressure for the team to come up with a title win in the NHL. Over the years, the poor performances of the team in the postseason have really affected their chances, making them one of the underperforming favorites from time to time – still far from making a championship happen for their city in so many years.
Still, the Oilers have shown plenty of promise this season. As the fifth seed in a war-torn Western Conference, the team has the potential to even finish as the third seed if they can actually make a deep push in their closing games. With the campaign already wrapping up, it does seem that the Oilers have a much bigger chance at winning in their games in the playoffs compared to the previous campaigns that have passed by. But is this their year after so many failures?
How Far Can the Oilers Go in the Playoffs?
The last two years have been tough for the Oilers. The team has lost to the Golden Knights in the second round in 2022-23, and then a sweep to the Colorado Avalanche in 2021-22. Since the 2006 Stanley Cup, the Oilers have never earned a berth on the same stage, which just shows how tough it has been for the team ever since. When the Draisaitl-McDavid era began in 2015-16, the team started making some ups and downs, but never a consistent push in the playoffs.
So what do the Oilers need to do if they are going to come up with a much more promising campaign in the coming playoffs? Let us dig deep on how the team can fuel their chances of winning now more than ever.
Creating Plays for Draisaitl and McDavid
We have seen over the years how both Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid have become lethal partners in the game, proving themselves to be fiery scorers in the league with promising performances night in and night out. However, we have also seen the results of their campaign over the years, which hasn’t been really that impressive when it comes to their overall playoff output, which is why many fans consider them a fluke in the postseason. However, creating more opportunities for both stars is going to be a promising chance for them to come up with an impressive win. Both McDavid and Draisaitl are high-octane scorers in the game, which makes them a deadly combo that the team can use to come up with more wins down the stretch.
Scoring is already an impeccable talent for them, and it would seem that they can really come up with impressive plays that will dictate the pace of the rest of the team in every game they play. This makes them an important piece in their chances of winning, and no one can deny the fact that their campaign will be put on notice now more than ever. On top of that, who knows how well their opponents will prepare for their burst in the postseason?
Supporting Bouchard on the Defensive End
There’s no denying that Evan Bouchard has been one of the most promising players in the Oilers’ roster. His defensive abilities has set the tone for Edmonton’s rise to dominance in the campaign, especially on the other side of the rink. Since November, Bouchard has has led the team in ice time versus elites, showing how much he has improved over the past few months as the lead anchor for the team. Setting records and coming up with impressive numbers night in and night out has been the norm for Bouchard so far, and his defensive schemes made them really a dangerous team to play against.
Shadowed by the promising scoring by Draisaitl and McDavid, it does seem that Bouchard only has to worry about putting the best of his defensive work while occasionally coming up with offensive work and coming up with more quick rotations that would make him a reliable player on the offensive end. He can make mistakes here and there, but then he is really on an absolute tear with impressive points in his games, and let’s not forget that he is doing all the things he can in just 23 minutes per game, which just proves his worth as a promising star too.
Maturity is Kicking in for the Oilers
It took some time for the club to actually become one of the most promising teams in the league. They started out with a 3-9-1 record to start the season, which was the culmination of their decision to fire Jay Woodcroft after so many years, including his assistant Dave Manson. This would then put Kris Knoblauch into the mix as the new coach, and so far it has led to the team gaining some new sense of maturity in their games, becoming more detail-oriented in their games over the past few months. They even reached a high point in their franchise when they set the record for most consecutive wins at 16 games, spanning from December 21st to January 27th.
The Oilers are starting to think like a competitive playoff team, and it does seem that they can actually come up with more big wins down the stretch compared to all the previous iterations of the squad in the past few years. Sure, it is still headlined by McDavid and Draisaitl, but it seems that the team has found new offensive options in their games with more talents expanding in the team. The team doesn’t have much time to celebrate their playoff berth, but the team is already coming up with more impressive strides and are even exceeding expectations in their games.
Bet On the Oilers to Win the Stanley Cup this Season
The Edmonton Oilers are one of the fiery favorites to win the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season. Their promising campaign has seen them emerge as one of the blazing teams to look out for thanks to their composition and solid performances night in and night out. This just shows how they are poised to win it all, and this might give them the best chance of winning now more than ever. Fans are already waiting for that league title to be brought home to Edmonton, and everyone wants to see them succeed now more than ever, especially with bigger stakes in the 2023-24 season.
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