After surviving what might have been the most gruelling early-season schedule in the NHL, the Edmonton Oilers finally have something they’ve desperately needed: time at home. A five-game December homestand presents not just an opportunity to climb the standings, but a chance to fundamentally reset a season that has been defined more by its challenges than its accomplishments.
Through the first 25 games of the 2025-26 NHL season, the Oilers have been a team in constant motion, rarely spending more than a few days in Edmonton. The numbers tell a stark story — 16 of their first 24 games came on the road, including a seven-game Eastern Conference swing that tested the limits of any roster.
The Hidden Cost of Constant Travel
While fans understandably focus on wins and losses, the ability to practice has quietly become one of the season’s most critical missing ingredients. Head coach Kris Knoblauch and his staff rely on full-ice sessions during homestands to drill fundamental concepts — defensive zone coverage, breakout passes, coordinated support systems. On the road, the team has been limited to brief morning skates, optional practices where veterans prioritize rest, and light sessions that can’t replicate the intensity needed to correct systemic errors.
Related: Oilers’ Heavy Travel Schedule Becoming a Majour Factor in Early Season Struggles
The impact extends beyond tactics. Research consistently shows that fatigued players are 25 to 40 percent more prone to making unforced errors, and the Oilers’ schedule has been relentless. Between time-zone hopping, disrupted sleep cycles, and constant travel, the team has essentially been forced to learn on the fly, trying to play their way out of mistakes instead of methodically addressing them through dedicated practice time.
A December to Remember?
Now, finally, the Oilers have what they’ve been waiting for. The five-game homestand — featuring the Minnesota Wild, Seattle Kraken, Winnipeg Jets, Buffalo Sabres, and Detroit Red Wings — presents the Oilers with an opportunity to play against teams they’re close to in the standings. More importantly, it provides the practice time and rest that have been scarce commodities all season.
The schedule makers circled this homestand months ago as the time when the Oilers would start stringing together consecutive wins. With the team typically playing better at Rogers Place and the roster getting healthier — Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has returned, and Zach Hyman appears to be finding his scoring touch after netting his first goal against the Kraken — the pieces are aligning for a significant turnaround. This time also offers new Oilers fan favourite, Connor Clattenburg, an opportunity to familiarize himself with the coaches and their systems.
Building Systems, Not Just Results
What makes this homestand so critical isn’t just the opportunity to accumulate points, though that matters. It’s the chance to establish the defensive-first identity that carried the Oilers deep into the playoffs last season. The Oilers’ defensive commitment was evident in their Nov. 27 4-0 shutout victory over Seattle, where Stuart Skinner recorded his second shutout of the season. The team in front of him made it easy — clearing the front of the net, paying attention to details, and not gifting Grade-A chances. It was textbook Oilers hockey at its best.
The question is whether that game represents a genuine turning point or just another false dawn in a season full of them. With quality practice time available during this homestand, Knoblauch can reinforce those defensive principles, work on special teams units, and establish the consistency that’s been lacking. This is where the value of being home truly reveals itself — not in the comfort of familiar beds, but in the ability to practice, drill, and develop the systems that win hockey games.
Expectations and Reality
Oilers fans might be cautiously optimistic heading into this stretch, and rightfully so. The team survived what could have been a season-altering disaster. At 10-10-5, they’re just four points behind the Pacific Division leaders despite playing more hockey than any other team in the league. That’s not excellence, but it’s survival — and survival was the goal through this brutal opening schedule.
Now comes the part where survival needs to transform into success. The upcoming homestand, combined with the practice opportunities it affords, represents the clearest chance yet for the Oilers to establish their game and start the kind of run that can define a season. Last season’s team famously went on a 16-game winning streak that began in late December. While expecting a repeat would be unrealistic, the foundation for better hockey is finally in place.
The road ahead still has challenges — another difficult December road trip looms after this homestand — but for the first time all season, the Oilers have the time and space to prepare properly. They have practice ice, rest days, and home-cooked meals. They have the opportunity to be a team instead of just a collection of talented individuals shuttling between airports.
For Oilers fans who have endured the inconsistency and frustration of the first quarter of the season, this homestand might finally offer what they’ve been waiting for: a team that looks like the one that nearly won the Stanley Cup, playing the kind of hockey that makes the rest of the league nervous. The schedule has given them every excuse to struggle. Now it’s time to show what happens when those excuses disappear.
