Edmonton Oilers: Connor McDavid knows the importance of home

As the Edmonton Oilers do their best to end the regular season in first place of the North Division, all eyes will be on how they end the months of April and May. Taking things one game at a time, the Oilers are currently in second place in what will more than likely be a very close race to first as the season winds down.

They have to take down the Toronto Maple Leafs and as we all know, that’s easier said than done. All of this will lead to hopes that the Oilers do end up in first place and enjoy having home ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, teams in the North Division will not be allowed to have any fans in attendance for postseason games due to the current pandemic.

In the grand scheme of things, safety is of the highest importance when it comes to the NHL and its fans as the league continues to monitor the situation in where stadiums are allowed to have fans attend. Whether it’s a percentage of how many can attend or a strict number, due to what is going on in Canada, it’s looking more than likely that once the postseason is here, fans will not be able to attend regardless.

At the end of the day, center and team captain Connor McDavid still wants to make his voice known that the Oilers definitely still want to play at home in the postseason. In an article written by Jason Gregor of Oilers Nation, here is what McDavid had to say about the Oilers and their pursuit to being tops in the North Division:

“If you get a team that matches hard, you want home ice advantage because you have last change,” said McDavid. “And you want to sleep in your own bed as much as you can, as that is an advantage in itself. You want to finish as high in the standings as you can.”

McDavid hit the nail right on the head as he’s 100 percent correct here. It’s important that the Oilers continue their momentum and win as many games as possible, especially against their North Division rivals as it will undoubtedly help the cause. Whether the Oilers can go the distance straight to the Stanley Cup Finals will still be a question for the future but regardless, it all leads to one big thing.

Having the Oilers earn home ice advantage would put them in a position to win more games and as we all know, anything can and will happen in the postseason. This would give the Oilers not only more to work hard in order to earn as they finish out the season but could be a catalyst for even greater things to come as they head full force into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Overall, it’s great to see McDavid, despite the major possibility of not having fans able to attend games in Canada, still keep home ice advantage as another big priority of the team from here on out. It’s important for the team to earn this and would be yet another nice milestone to an already productive and fun season by the Oilers.