The Oilers have historically had mixed starts to the regular season. They had a 3-9-1 record through 13 games last season and ended the season at 49-27-6/104 points and finished second in the Pacific Division. They were 7-6-0 through 13 games in 2022-2023 and ended that season at 50-23-9/109 points and were similarly second in the Pacific Division.
The Oilers were better at 10-3-0 through 13 games in 2021-2022, ending the season with 49-27-6/104 points and also second in the Pacific Division. They went 6-7-0 to begin the 2018-2019 season and this time finished 35-38-9/79 points and did not make the playoffs.
The Oilers' slow starts was also there in several of the 2024 playoff series, as they impressed us with their perseverance and belief in themselves. (But also stressed us all to drink more, because they fell behind in each series!)
So, we have more than a small sample size of the Oilers' work ethic over the past five years and are convinced to say that they are “slow starters”. In the end though, we know they can crank it up, show that desire to win and be one of the best defensive and offensive teams in the NHL when they put their minds to it.
The matchup of Connor versus Connor on Saturday night was clearly won by Connor Bedard. He was amazing to watch and the future star of the NHL is rising up the ranks and not having just sophomore success. He is a great young player, future captain of the Blackhawks, clearly wants to will his team to win and will burn you on costly defensive mistakes.
Bedard showed this in the 5-2 win for Chicago against Edmonton, with one goal and two assists compared to only one assist by Connor McDavid. The Oilers lost again because of several things key to success that were not carried out. This was described nicely in the pre-game report on this site by Devon Hladunewich. The Oilers did the opposite to what they could have done to be successful – they made several mistakes that we, as Oilers fans, are all too familiar with.
This included errant passes in the defensive zoom, looking for the best play (usually resulting in a no-play in the offensive zone), off-net shots, defensive breakdowns, and just not enough focus on the basics of playing hockey. The Oilers are clearly not dialled in, not engaged in being successful and have forgotten what could happen if they continue to play like they played in the opening three games of the season.
Do the Oilers want to go 5-12-1 again to start the season? NO. Should they show signs of a Stanley Cup contender? YES. The sooner they realize that they need to show up for games, the sooner they will start to win games.
The Oilers are still one of the top-end teams in the NHL and will start to play like that soon enough, but it is frustrating to see poor play early on and losses piling up. We all hope the team that won 16 straight games last season, that came within two goals of winning the Stanley Cup and had a 94.3 percent penalty kill in the playoffs will show up to entertain and wow us again. For now though, we wait and hope.