The Edmonton Oilers just won’t give up.
Despite falling behind 4-1 at one point against the New York Rangers, the Edmonton Oilers battle back to tie the game in the third, and eventually came back again from a 5-4 deficit to win the game in overtime. This was not the first time something like this happened this season, but it was a remarkable thing to watch.
Edmonton is 9-1-0 on the season, so there are not a lot of negatives to take away from things at this time. They have eighteen points and are one of the top teams in the league at this time.
The Oilers’ mentality in every game has been that they will find a way to win, and for a team that had little confidence in the postseason last year that is a positive they can continue to improve on.
This one quote sums it up below:
Tyson Barrie says when the Oilers fell behind 4-1 on Friday, Leon Draisaitl skated by one of the Rangers and said something along the lines of "Hold on, it's coming."
— Reid Wilkins (@ReidWilkins) November 7, 2021
Obviously, against any team, the answer should be to score first and keep a lead. Edmonton shouldn’t have fallen behind 4-1 against New York, but they did, and they answered the right way on Friday. Edmonton could have rolled over after the second period. They could have taken a loss at home against New York and been happy with their 8-2-0 record after ten games, but they did not give up and continued to push for a win. They earned their two points against the Rangers.
Edmonton has scored first in six of their games this season. Those are six wins they have under their belt. In games where they have given up the first goal they are still pretty good they are 3-1-0 when the opponent scores first and they are 2-0 when trailing after two periods.
Obviously, the Oilers are going to come down to earth a little more eventually. They are a top team in the league and the division, but they are going to lose some games along the way. The nice thing about their performance so far is that they are proving they can win games in a variety of fashions. They can play with a lead, they can play from behind, and they can even play in a close 1-0 game to the finish.
Edmonton’s next matchup is against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night. This will be the first game of a long five-game road trip for Edmonton who just played three games at home in a row.