We could be on the verge of a run up the NHL standings for the Edmonton Oilers.
After yet another slow start, the Oilers have slowly begun turning things around as of late, putting forth five solid showings over their last six games. The most recent of which came on Thursday, where they were able to bury nine goals in a lopsided 9-4 win over the Seattle Kraken.
Despite their improved play as of late, the Oilers own a rather disappointing 12-11-5 record for 29 points. They currently sit outside of a playoff spot, though there are signs that point towards them turning things around.
Along with slowly starting to look more like themselves, the Oilers have also gotten through the most difficult part of their schedule. As per Guru Rankings, they have had the 11th toughest schedule of all 32 teams this season. For the remainder of the season, Guru Rankings projects them as having the fourth-easiest.
Guru Rankings
The green numbers represent the opponent’s average ranking. The higher the number, the easier the schedule, as Guru Rankings explains on its site.
“Our NHL Strength of Schedule rankings represent the average difficulty of those opponents that each team has faced or will face during the current season,” an excerpt on their site reads. “The strength of an opponent is determined by their ranking in our Composite NHL Power Rankings. A low opponent average ranking indicates a difficult schedule, whereas a high opponent average ranking suggests an easier schedule.”
While the Oilers’ schedule in terms of opponents hasn’t been easy, it’s the travel that’s really made things difficult. They were recently on a seven-game road trip that saw them go up against the Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres, Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Florida Panthers.
Things are slowly starting to get better for the Oilers in terms of travel. They are currently in the midst of a five-game homestand, and will have an even longer eight-game home stretch in late January and into early February.
The combination of weaker competition and more games on home soil should allow the Oilers to begin climbing the standings and re-establish themselves as a serious contender in the Western Conference.
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