The Edmonton Oilers have been struggling lately and have yet to clinch a playoff spot. They are currently 6 points ahead of the Calgary Flames while both teams still have 5 games left there is still a chance the Flames over take the Oilers. While it will only take a couple fo wins for the Oilers to clinch, nothing is guaranteed especially the way the Oilers are playing right now and with their injuries.
The Oilers are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games, have stalled out, losing their last two games. One of those losses came at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings, a team the Oilers were trying to pass to get home ice, the other came against the Anaheim Ducks, one of the NHL’s worst teams. People are concerned about how the Oilers will fair in the playoffs, for me I think they need to be worried about making the playoffs first.
What has gone wrong?
For the Oilers the most obvious issue for them lately is their health. There is a long list of players that are injured for the Oilers, most importantly, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. If any team lost their top two players they would see a regression, but when the two players are among the two best in the world the drop-off is even more substantial.
Another key injury is to the Oilers starting goalie Stuart Skinner, while honestly in my opinion Calvin Pickard has played well in Skinners absence, Skinner is this teams starting goalie and the Oilers are going to want him to get on a roll heading into the playoffs. In order to get on a roll though he is going to need to be healthy and the team is going to need to play good in front of him, neither of those things are happening right now.
The good news for the Oilers heading down the stretch here is they have two games against the NHL’s worst team, the San Jose Shark, so if they are able to win both of those games(which they better) they will book themselves a ticket to the playoffs. The Oilers right now with their health and the way they are playing though those games can’t be looked at as auto-wins. If the Flames keep winning the Oilers could find themselves in some trouble.
While the Oilers do have an easier schedule than the Flames, nothing is out of the realm of possibility. While lots of fans are worried about how the Oilers will do in the playoffs, I think they might be getting a bit ahead of themselves. If this team doesn’t get healthy sooner rather than they the Oilers could find themselves in very late season clinching scenario, which will be nerve wracking.