There you have it. After a tumultuous start to the season that culminated in the firing of head coach Jay Woodcroft, the Edmonton Oilers, led by Kris Knoblauch behind the bench, have fought their way back up the standings and have now clinched a berth in the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Edmonton becomes the second team in the Pacific Division to punch a ticket to the playoffs after the Vancouver Canucks clinched theirs on March 30.
The clinching scenario for Edmonton was simple: get at least one point against the Colorado Avalanche.
Edmonton’s turning point
On November 14, 2023, the Oilers were 31st in the NHL ahead of just the San Jose Sharks. They had a record of 4–9–1 which was already much better than their 2–9–1 record mere days before that. Since then, they’ve gone from 31st to now ninth in the league. The team has completely changed their fortune and clinched their spot in the playoffs with a 46–24–5 record.
The Oilers slowly turned things around after reaching rock bottom. Knoblauch started his NHL coaching tenure with a win and found ways to find his team winning more often than not.
In a stretch of games in November and December, the team won eight games in a row. The team was suddenly in the wild card race, sitting ninth overall in the Western Conference. After that streak, the team lost three games in a row to put a slight damper in their momentum. But then we all know what happened next.
The meteoric rise of the Oilers
Sixteen wins in a row.
It was a win streak for the ages and the Oilers catapulted themselves right into the playoffs. Now sixth in the conference, the Oilers went right past the wild card into third in the Pacific with a healthy lead over the Los Angeles Kings.
They didn’t stop there though, the Oilers kept clawing their way at the teams ahead of them and eventually caught and passed the Vegas Golden Knights too. On March 2, the Oilers leapfrogged the Golden Knights for second in the Pacific. They’ve been in second ever since behind the Canucks.
There’s still lots to do in the regular season
All season long, the Oilers have been chasing one or more teams. From chasing the teams in front of them in the wild card race to chasing the teams in seeded division spots, now they have just one team left to chase.
The Canucks have been first in the Pacific for the majority of the season. The Oilers are hot on their tails the divisional banner in reach. While Vancouver has kept pace with a multi-game gap between themselves and the Oilers, the two teams do face off against each other once more before the season concludes. This could very well determine who takes the Pacific Division crown.
On top of team performances, Connor McDavid will make his push for the Art Ross after temporarily becoming the NHL’s scoring leader and Zach Hyman can possibly reach the 60-goal mark.
Time to prove it
It’s going to be a fascinating end to the season for the Oilers, but the pressure to make the playoffs is no longer there. Clinching a spot after their start will be a storyline for years to come. Edmonton may very well be entering these playoffs as a Cup favourite. Based on their on-ice systems and the results, if they can transfer their regular season dominance into the playoffs, they’ll be a tough matchup versus anyone.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
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