Life as an Edmonton Oilers fan has been less than ideal to start the 2013-14 NHL season. A new season brought new hopes with many changes happening with the team, from the roster to the management. But a 1-3 start for the Oilers with some uninspiring play has left many feeling the blues as the team heads out on their east coast swing.
But it’s not all bad, in fact outside of a few soft goals, some glaring holes in the defensive end and the struggles from some of the fire power, this Oilers team has many positives going for them.
In sports, especially when devoting your sporting life to the Edmonton Oilers, it can be beyond easy to get sucked down into the negative aspects. But since when did the Oilers miss the playoffs in October? Who said that this roster is the final one that the team will be forced to use all year? Or when did four games into the season warrant a shake up in the sense of signing Ilya Bryzgalov or trading away a key piece to the future?
Underneath this sub .500 record lies a team that is frustrated as hell. No player likes losing and given the handful that have experienced it in Edmonton for the past several years, this start isn’t what anyone wanted.
But all is not lost. Anytime a new coach takes over a hockey team, it takes time to adjust to his newly implemented systems and sometimes the results don’t happen over night. Patience is a must and more times than not, the team will start to deliver performances and the outcomes will be drastically different.
With all of that being said, here are the top five positives that surrounding the Oilers so far this season.