With nine games remaining on their 2024-25 NHL regular season schedule, the Edmonton Oilers (42-26-5, 89 points) sit third in the Pacific Division, two points back of the second-place Los Angeles Kings (41-23-9, 91 points) and nine points behind the division-leading Vegas Golden Knights (45-20-8, 98 points).
Edmonton faces the Golden Knights tonight (April 1) at T-Mobile Arena. If they are to have any chance of catching Vegas, the Oilers absolutely must win this game, ideally in regulation.
Oilers Have Fallen Off Pace
As recently as Feb. 21, Edmonton and Vegas were tied for most points in the Pacific. All that separated the Oilers from finishing atop their division for the first time since 1986-87 was a strong stretch of play over the final several weeks of the season.
But instead, it was Vegas that cranked things into high gear, leaving the Oilers currently battling with the Kings for second in the Pacific, well back of the top spot.
So, how is it exactly that the Oilers dropped out of the race for first place? A five-game losing streak in February certainly didn’t help matters, but Edmonton has been pretty good since, going 8-5-1 in its last 14 games.
Oilers Hampered by Injuries
The Oilers have dealt with recent injuries to superstar centres Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, as well as top-pairing defenceman Mattias Ekholm, but none have missed more than a handful of games so far, and the Oilers managed to play okay without them.
Edmonton went 1-2-1 without Draisaitl, who returned on Saturday (March 29) and led his team to a critical overtime victory over the Calgary Flames. Meanwhile, the Oilers were 5-3-0 in March without Ekholm and have won two of the four games that McDavid has missed as he recovers from a lower-body injury suffered on March 20 in an overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets.
What it simply comes down to is that the Golden Knights got really hot. Vegas is 14-3-2 in its last 19 games, and has won six straight over the last two weeks.
But the real reason that Edmonton is likely looking at a 37th consecutive season without placing first in its division can be traced back several months, to last fall.
Oilers Were NHL’s Hottest Team
Once again this season, the Oilers stumbled out of the game, dropping near the bottom of the standings after winning just two of their first seven games. They were still barely above .500 in late November, with a record of 10-9-2 through 21 games, and it wasn’t until just before Christmas that Edmonton finally climbed above third place in the Pacific Division, after going on an incredible stretch of winning 11 times in 13 games.
The Oilers continued to play strong into the New Year, putting together a record of 10-3-1 in the month of January. From Dec. 5 to Feb. 5, Edmonton accumulated 44 points, the most in the NHL over that two-month span.
But their slow start left the Oilers with no margin for error, and when Vegas stepped on the accelerator after the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Oilers just couldn’t keep pace. The slightest bump in the road, be it one losing streak or a couple injuries, knocked Edmonton too far off course.
Oilers Also Started Poorly Last Season
What makes this so discouraging is that the Oilers should have known better. Edmonton famously got off to a dreadful start in 2023-24, before authoring perhaps the most incredible turnaround in NHL history, climbing from second last in the Western Conference at American Thanksgiving to second place in the Pacific Division by regular season’s end, and then going on a postseason run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Edmonton lost that championship game by the narrowest of margins, 2-1, to the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise. Had that game been played at Rogers Place, the result quite possibly would have been different. But the Panthers earned the right to play the most important game in their building by virtue of having the better regular season record, which was the product of playing consistently strong hockey from October through April.
The Oilers found out, in the most painful way possible, last June just how costly a poor October can be. But when they got back to work this season, that lesson didn’t seem to have registered. And now here they are.
Maybe the Oilers pass the Kings and somehow overtake Vegas before the regular season wraps up on April 16. Maybe they go on to win the Stanley Cup without home ice advantage. Or maybe Edmonton gets knocked out in the first round of the playoffs, losing the deciding game in the opponent’s barn. We’ll find out over the days, weeks, and perhaps months to come, starting tonight.
