The Edmonton Oilers are home. Finally.
After 11 days, seven cities, and zero breaks, the Oilers wrapped up their gruelling Eastern Conference road trip Saturday night with a 6-3 win over the Florida Panthers. The final tally: 3-3-1. A .500 road trip.
Not spectacular, not disastrous—just about what you’d hope for when the schedule is that rough.
Let’s be honest about what this trip looked like on paper. Seven games, all on the road, bouncing between time zones, facing some great teams (some not), with no time to practice, let alone recharge.
Connor McDavid said it himself: “On the road for two weeks, we didn’t have one practice.”
And here’s the thing—the Oilers started it looking every bit like a team that might not survive. They’d just been embarrassed 9-1 at home by Colorado. They were inconsistent at best, frustrating at worst. The thought of sending this group on a seven-game Eastern swing had fans already bracing for the worst.
But something changed along the way.
It didn’t happen all at once. The losses to Columbus and Buffalo early in the trip still stung. But by the time they got to Tampa Bay, things were turning around. They lost 2-1 in overtime to the Lightning, but it was the kind of loss that felt like progress.
Then came Saturday in Sunrise. Jack Roslovic scored twice in the opening period. The Oilers chased Sergei Bobrovsky from the net. They held on through Florida’s second-period surge. McDavid and Matthew Savoie added empty netters to seal it. First regulation win since October 28. First regulation win in November, period.
Pre-Game Stats
10-9-5 | 25 PTS
And there's something else:
“That was a tough trip, a lot of games," continued McDavid. "A lot of cities. (But) the bulk of our schedule on the road is done.”
That’s the real story here. Not that the Oilers went 3-3-1, but that they turned things around and now it's over. This is a team that’s played 24 games already—more than anyone else in the league. Sixteen of those came on the road. The schedule was brutal by design, front-loaded with travel that would have tested even the best teams.
And the Oilers aren’t the best team right now. They’re 10-9-5, sitting sixth in the Pacific Division. But they’re only four points behind first place. They’re tied with Utah for a wild card spot. Most importantly, they’re still within striking distance, and now they get to go home.
Safe To Say, Oilers Are Turning Things Around
There’s something poetic about the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers">Edmonton Oilers</a> finally finding their rhythm in Sunrise, Florida, of all places. The same building where they watched the Panthers hoist the Stanley Cup not once, but twice in consecutive Junes. Saturday night’s 6-3 victory over Florida wasn’t just another win—it was the kind of statement game that suggests this team has finally figured something out.
Six of their next seven games are at Rogers Place. Time to practice. Time to rest. Time to get healthy—Nugent-Hopkins should be back this week. Time to figure out what they are when they’re not living out of suitcases and changing time zones every three days.
“We understand it takes a lot of work and we have the ability to do it," added Nugent-Hopkins. "It’s going to start with work, doing the right things and by no means do we sit here and think, ‘Don’t worry, don’t worry, it will come.’ We understand we have to make it happen.”
That’s the mentality that got them through this trip. Not optimism for optimism’s sake, but a realistic understanding of what needs to happen next. The defensive improvements they showed in Tampa and Florida—that’s the foundation. And now they can build on it consistently, game after game, at home, where they can actually practice and prepare properly.
How Seriously Should Oilers Fans Take Connor Clattenburg?
Connor Clattenburg spent 26 minutes in the penalty box Saturday night. Two fights, a 10-minute misconduct, and enough chippy play to make Coachella Valley want to send him a bill for emotional damages. The Bakersfield Condors won 6-3. Clattenburg didn’t score. He didn’t set up a goal. He did exactly what he’s supposed to do, and that’s the story.
Let’s put this in perspective. The Oilers could have easily gone 1-5-1 or 2-4-1 on this trip. They could have fallen completely out of the playoff picture before American Thanksgiving. They could have come home in crisis mode, down on themselves, searching for answers.
Instead, they salvaged what could have been a season-altering disaster. They showed looks of the team they need to be. They got through the toughest part of their schedule mostly intact.
For a team on the road, facing the circumstances they faced, .500 isn’t bad. It’s actually pretty good.
Oilers Place Noah Philp On LTIR, Recall Tough Guy From AHL
Noah Philp is sidelined long-term for the Edmonton Oilers. As a result, the team has called up a rugged enforcer from the AHL in Connor Clattenburg.
So, the Oilers survived the road trip from hell. They’ve got a manageable stretch of home games ahead. They’re getting healthy. The lines are meshing. The question is whether they can turn it into momentum, whether they can take what they learned on the road and use it to climb back into the playoff race.
The first 24 games were about not falling apart. The next stretch is about putting it together. The Oilers have given themselves a chance to do exactly that. Whether they take advantage of it remains to be seen.
But at least they’re home. And for now, that’s enough.
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