Edmonton Oilers Recap: the Week They Almost Broke a Record
Here are all the storylines you may have missed regarding the Edmonton Oilers over the last week.
The Edmonton Oilers have played four games over the past week, all of them at home. The week started off well but the last two games haven't exactly gone smoothly.
They began the week with a great win over the New Jersey Devils. Calvin Pickard played extraordinarily well, only allowing one goal on 27 shots. The Devils pushed hard in the third period, but Pickard stood tall stopping 14 of the 15 shots that came his way.
Next up on the Oilers schedule was playing Connor Bedard, the next generational talent. His most touted ability before coming into the game was his shot - and he did not disappoint. Rogers Place was full of life to start the game and quickly fell silent in amazement of the goal Bedard scored.
They went on to win their game against the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1, but things would not be so fortuitous against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy was berated with shots throughout the entire game and the Lightning still found a way to win 7-4.
Thus, their eight game winning streak came to an end. Had they won against the Lightning they would have tied a team record for longest winning streak - something they have only ever achieved twice before.
Their final game of the week came against the Florida Panthers. Simply put, it was a bit ugly. They lacked urgency at times while the Panthers were hungry for goals all night. They lost the game 5-1 to close out their homestand.
Considering the hole that this team was in at the beginning of the season this eight-game winning streak they had worked wonders for the team's confidence and their position in the standings. They were at the bottom of the league before the winning streak and today they sit five points outside of the last Wild Card Position with two games in hand on that team - the Arizona Coyotes.
The team practiced yesterday before heading out onto the road. Kris Knoblauch shuffled up the forward lines at practice yesterday. "A little more balance," is what Knoblauch wants out of these new line combinations going out on the road for six games to close out the 2023 calendar year.
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