When you’re on a roll, you’re on a roll.
And it’s hard not to look at the current crop of Edmonton Oilers without comparing them to last year’s group that went on a long run all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Back then, by the third weekend in November the Oilers kicked off a streak of eight-straight victories that quickly turned the tide on a slow start to the season that saw them go 2-9-1.
And that very same weekend in November this year, the Oilers began a stretch that saw them win five of six to begin bucking yet another slow start.
If the similarities aren’t eerie enough, just know that it was Tuesday’s opponents, the Tampa Bay Lightning, who were the ones that ended Edmonton’s eight-game run this very week on the calendar one year ago.
And while you’re never going to win them all, it’s obvious momentum is being gained for a club that spent the first-quarter of the schedule hovering around the .500 mark.
So, perhaps there is something to this particular point in the season where an Oilers squad that has — at least on paper — all the offensive firepower any roster should ever need, really begins to get things rolling in all facets of its game?
“I think every year’s different,” said Zach Hyman, who is a case in point when it comes to what’s been going on at Rogers Place these past two months.
The Oilers forward is fresh off joining the NHL’s club for 50 goal scorers for the first time in his career, only to run right into a brick wall early in the year.
Turning things around
He was held to just a single point throughout his first 10 games, and didn’t earn his first goal until Game 11. His once-hot stick had cooled to the point where it notched just three goals over the first 20 games, before injury was added to insult, and Hyman had to miss the next five games.
But as his season went, so too go the Oilers, and the star forward returned to turn things around to head into Tuesday’s tilt with three goals in his first two games back on the ice.
“Goal scoring’s funny. Sometimes the puck goes in, sometimes it doesn’t,” Hyman said. “Of late, obviously it’s gone in and that helps build confidence, of course.
“So, I’m just having fun out there. And when the team wins, we score more goals. So, I think they go hand in hand as a group, and our team confidence is in a good spot right now.”
But it’s not just the offence.
“I think this year, we’ve made some changes obviously,” Hyman said. “We have a bunch of new faces coming off a long, long year last year. So, it just takes a little time to get everything in order, I guess.
“And I think we’re finding our groove.”
An Oilers special teams that might as well have been non-existent after sitting at or near the top of last year’s playoff pile have since begun to turn in the type of performance needed for a charge up the standings. They were tied with the Vancouver Canucks for third place in the Pacific Division with 32 points prior to Tuesday’s puck drop.
“I think the new guys are getting comfortable and that’s always a good sign, and playing really well,” Hyman said. “As a team, I think we’re just growing proactively and finding out what works for us.”
The only game the Oilers dropped in that run of six was by a single point to the division-leading Vegas Golden Knights.
‘It’s exciting’
But Tuesday ushered in the biggest challenge the Oilers have faced all season, with their next few games coming up against the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Wild and the aforementioned Golden Knights before the long-awaited rematch against the defending champion Florida Panthers, and the Boston Bruins — none of whom sit further down than sixth place in their conference.
“It’s exciting. It’s always exciting,” Hyman said. “Any game in the NHL, no matter where a team is in the standings, you can’t overlook. The parity in the league is obviously the highest it’s ever been.
“But when you’re playing against a team that’s high in the standings, that’s got high-skilled players, definitely is more of a challenge. And it’s exciting to play against those guys.”
Iron sharpens iron, as the saying goes. And these Oilers are looking to continue their newfound upward trajectory heading into the holiday season.
“I think consistency. Just continue to play well throughout the entire game,” Hyman said of the team’s main focus. “Continuing to smother teams when we’re up and continuing to play well defensively, getting great goaltending. And then obviously finishing.
“The ability to score, put a team away is really important and I think we’re starting to make better on our chances as a group.”
E-mail: [email protected]
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
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