The Edmonton Oilers played the Winnipeg Jets about as badly as one could have imagined to open the 2024-25 season. To say it was a terrible showing would qualify as the understatement of all things Oilers hockey in the 21st century, but if there’s ever an upside, it’s that they found themselves in the same position last season.
That said, there’s a good reason fans don’t need to panic because of one bad showing. In fact, even if the Oilers win five of their first 18 games this season, panicking is still not a viable option because we all saw this star-studded team dig their way out of what looked like an inevitable hole and ultimately win the Western Conference.
But that doesn’t mean fans should feel entirely optimistic if the Oilers, who have an easy schedule, at least on paper, to complete this homestand, should they, somehow, lose or play less-than-stellar hockey.
For starters, any rational fan would say there’s no way this team will lose to the Chicago Blackhawks, Calgary Flames, and Philadelphia Flyers, none of whom should make the postseason. But even if Edmonton barely wins these games, fans can fall a little into panic mode even after four games.
And yes, fall into panic mode, even after what they did last season, because we don’t need to measure the odds of the Oilers clawing their way out of an early season deficit twice. Even if, as mentioned earlier, there’s still a reason for optimism since Connor McDavid and Company succeeded once when put in that position.
Why fans have a reason to panic if the Oilers struggle in the next three games
The Oilers proved last season that they’re one of the better teams in hockey, and from a talent standpoint, such is the case again this year. But if there’s one thing no talented team can afford, it’s to play to the level of their competition.
No, doing so shouldn’t knock the Oilers out of playoff contention, and I’m not even implying that they’ll lose month after month to teams they should regularly beat by two or more goals. But allowing opponents that are clearly less talented to stay in contention for almost, if not all, of a 60-minute game, could create a mentality that would haunt them all season.
This could lead to a few issues for the Oilers in the long run. For one, should they lose their fair share of trap games, Edmonton could find itself in more than a few ‘must-win’ matchups for the best possible playoff seeds late in the year.
If they win more of these games but struggle to win them, well, it could plant the seed for a potential postseason upset, and we’ve seen plenty of them throughout the years. Not necessarily in Edmonton, but all over the NHL landscape.
I also understand that anything could happen, but I’m laying out scenarios I’ve seen in the past, not just in hockey but throughout pro sports. That said, if you’re a fan, you want the Oilers to win at least two of these next three games by a convincing margin, and ideally, take three straight W’s and build early-season momentum and to show that they’re in complete control against less-than-stellar opponents.