From the St. Louis Blues going from last to champs to the Minnesota North Stars' Cinderella run in 1991, Avry Lewis-McDougall examines five teams whose mid-season turnarounds are among the best in NHL history.

Not many saw the start of the current Edmonton Oilers season being an uphill grind. Early struggles saw them start the year at 2-9-1, and it cost Jay Woodcroft and Dave Manson their jobs. 

Now, at 7-12-1, there's still work to do. Still, with Connor McDavid putting up nine points in his last two games and the Oilers coming off a dominant 8-2 victory over Anaheim on Sunday night, the idea of the turnaround beginning has crept into the minds of more than a few people. 

If the Oilers do right the ship after a rough start, they'd be far from the first to do so. Let's look at five NHL clubs that found a way to change their fortunes when their seasons looked lost: 

2018-19 St. Louis Blues

We know the story and saw how the season ended, but how can we start anywhere else for this list?

The start for the St. Louis Blues in 2018-19 wasn't great. Quite frankly, it was terrible. 

In November, the team let go of head coach Mike Yeo and replaced him with Craig Berube after a 7-9-3 start. For a long time, St. Louis looked like anything but a team that could propel themselves to a Stanley Cup. On Jan. 2, 2019, they sat dead last in the NHL with a mark of 15-18-4. 

But that January saw a change in this team that we may never see again in the NHL. Rookie netminder Jordan Binnington took over the reins and shocked many with a 24-5-1 mark in net. At the same time, the Blues went on a 30-10-5 run to finish third in the Central Division, including a 12-1-1 mark in February. Ryan O'Reilly put up 77 points, while Vladimir Tarasenko led the Blues in goals with 33. 

The post-season saw the Blues get past Winnipeg, Dallas and San Jose before taking down Boston in a thrilling seven-game Cup final series. 

From worst to first? It's happened before in Hollywood, but to see it play out in real life was one of the coolest moments in sports. 

1990-91 Edmonton Oilers 

The defending Cup champs were in trouble. 

Coming off their fifth Stanley Cup victory, the Oilers began their season 2-11-2 with a nine-game losing streak lasting into November. By the end of November, they were 19th out of 21 teams in the NHL.

In December, the Oilers began to flip the script and show there was still some life left in the final days of the Edmonton dynasty. They went 11-3-0 in the month to get over the .500 mark before the page flipped to 1991. 

Aside from that February, the Oilers didn't end a calendar month below the .500 mark. Their 80 points on the season were their fewest since 1980-81, but a team that wasn't expected to do a bunch still propelled itself to playoff victories past Calgary and Los Angeles on the strength of production from Mark Messier, Craig Simpson and Esa Tikkanen. The Oilers bowed out in the Campbell Conference final to the next team on this list.

1990-91 Minnesota North Stars 

In January 1991, the Minnesota North Stars making the playoffs, much less the Stanley Cup final, had to be the furthest thing from anyone's mind. While the Oilers had already climbed to 13th in the NHL by the New Year, Minnesota was still stuck in 19th of 21 teams.

When you talk about a Cinderella squad running to a Cup final appearance, the North Stars have to be talked about, and for good reason. The 68-point Minnesota club shocked many as it not only made the playoffs but knocked off two 100-point clubs in Chicago and St. Louis before taking out the Oilers to set up a Cup final against the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

On Jan. 15, 1991, the North Stars were 12-28-2 and winners of just one of their last 10 games. For most teams, the idea of this season being a success at any level would have ended right here, but from then on, Minnesota found ways to collect points to save what looked to be a lost campaign.

Dave Gagner led the way offensively with 82 points, also putting up his second straight season of 40 goals. Goaltender Jon Casey went 12-4-4 in his final 20 games with a 2.71 goals-against average and .900 save percentage.

While the season would see Minnesota fall in six games to the Penguins, its improbable run still deserves its praise. 

2006-07 Pittsburgh Penguins

From 2006-07 to 2021-22, the Pittsburgh Penguins' playoff streak was one of the most impressive runs in the NHL's Salary Cap Era. But the first year of the streak was looking a little shaky to start. 

While Pittsburgh finished the regular season with 105 points as the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, the Penguins were only a game over the .500 mark in early January, sitting at 18-17-7. The flip switched from Jan. 13, 2007, until Feb. 18, 2007, as they picked up at least one point for the next 16 games. The Penguins ended up with 37 points out of a possible 50 in January and February. 

Production-wise, Sidney Crosby led the way with a whopping 120 points, while rookie Evgeni Malkin put up 85 points. Marc-Andre Fleury held down the fort in net, showcasing himself as a franchise goaltender with his first career 40-win season. While Pittsburgh fell in the first round to the Ottawa Senators, the signs were there that this young Penguins core would be a threat in the East for a long time. 

2014-15 Minnesota Wild

The 2014-15 Minnesota Wild were a 100-point team and made playoffs as the top Western Conference wild card, but do you remember where they sat in the middle of January 2015? 

Minnesota's start to 2015 was anything but memorable, as a six-game winless streak saw them fall to 18-19-5 on Jan. 13, 2015. While the January record saw them go 5-6-2, their turnaround in February and March soon made that struggle a distant memory. The Wild went 11-2-1 in February, losing just once during the month at home, and 11-3-0 in March, featuring a perfect 6-0-0 record on the road. 

While the Wild's post-season was short, it was also a year that saw Devan Dubnyk's career revived. His performance in net gave new life to the Wild after they acquired him from the Arizona Coyotes on Jan. 15, 2015, when they were trailing a playoff spot by seven points. His .936 save percentage, 1.78 goals-against average and 27-9-2 record made him a finalist for the Vezina Trophy.