Edmonton Oilers Look To Salvage Slow Start Vs Winnipeg Jets

The Edmonton Oilers look to prove to the league and to their fan that they are actually Stanley Cup Contenders tonight as they host the Winnipeg Jets tonight down at Rogers Place. From the Edmonton Oilers point of view a win tonight and you have a 2-3 record.

The thing is if the Edmonton Oilers lose tonight they will have a 1-4 record. This is something that will not be easy to overcome. There is a big difference between being one game under 0.500 and 3 games.

The teams the Edmonton Oilers were grouped with at the start of the year in the West are already finding success. The Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights have yet to lose a game this season. The Avalanche are 4-0 while the Knights are 5-0.

Now it is still fairly early in the season but if the Edmonton Oilers want to have any chance of home-ice advantage in the second or third round of the playoffs. Which could end up being helpful come mid-May.

A Win Tonight Will Make It Better

Going into the season neither the Canucks, Preadtors or Flyers were in most people’s playoff picture. This is what makes the 1-3 record more alarming for Edmonton Oilers fans. Tonight is a different story.

The Winnipeg Jets are, on paper, a better team than the teams the Oilers have faced so far. This is why a win tonight would make most fans feel much better. If the Edmonton Oilers show a level of competition against a team that has playoff aspirations.

The main issue for the Oilers this season is their lack of effort. Maybe it is because they were playing weak teams, so they thought they could coast to a victory. You can not do that in today’s NHL and the Oilers record backs that up.

Everyone Needs To Show Up For The Edmonton Oilers

The only win this team has came in the only game where you could say everyone showed up to play. Whether it was Connor McDavid or Derek Ryan everyone played a good game and played their role well.

That is all the Edmonton Oilers need to do to win games this season, is play well, they don’t need to play great to beat most of the teams in the league. Unfortunately, so far this season through 4 games they have only played good once.

Evander Kane Needs To Be Better For The Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers have had a rocky start to the season. One player who has been underperforming is Evander Kane with 1 assist and a -5 so far this season.

I wrote that the Nashville game was close to a must-win game, tonight I have that same feeling. If this team can pull out a win against the Jets my confidence in them will come right back up. On the other hand, if they lose, I will start to get very worried about them.