The only thing harder than the climb toward the top is staying up there.
After proving they belong with the NHL’s elite teams after winning four of five against top-shelf competition on the way through a Murderer’s Row of a schedule in December, there is a steep drop-off this weekend heading into the Christmas break, with back-to-backs against the San Jose Sharks and Ottawa Senators.
Not exactly the stiffest competition compared to the run Edmonton went on with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins in succession.
And they came out of it 4-for-5, to continue their climb in the Pacific Division standings following a start to the season that could only be described as mediocre at best.
And the biggest stride might have been taken mentally, said assistant head coach Glen Gulutzan.
“You do what we did last year and you lose in Game 7,” Gulutzan said, speaking of that which only lately has begun to actually be spoken about, following last year’s heartbreaking Stanley Cup Finals loss to the Panthers. “Then you come back the next year right away, short summer, and you see this 82-game schedule.
“It’s a hard league and sometimes you want to skip those 82 and just get right back to where you were before, but you can’t. And I think if you look at our mentality at the start of the year, we had to get into a little bit of a rhythm and a mental mindset to play the 82. And you could see over the last month we have.”
And with the mental fortitude also comes a confidence knowing they can once again run with the big dogs in the race to become king of the hill.
The thing is, beating all the top dogs doesn’t mean anything if the Oilers can’t follow through against the rest of the field and carry the momentum into the new year.
It’s finding consistency in the face of a gruelling schedule as the season approaches its midpoint that separates the contenders from the pretenders come spring.
“I thought there was lots to like, for sure, playing some good teams and we were able to get wins,” Connor McDavid said of what’s been a December or remember. “Getting contributions from everybody. Special teams was good, goaltending was good. A lot of things to like about that.”
But beating a winner doesn’t mean nearly as much if they just turn right around and fall to a lesser opponent.
“Every point’s important, every game’s important,” he added. “The playoff race, the positioning race is always so tight, every point matters. Even the points in December, these count, too. So, these are games that we’ll have to be up for and ready to take care of business.”
It all almost went sideways as soon as it began, with a visit from the Sharks on Saturday, which was shaping up to be a disappointing loss before the Oilers.
Instead, they managed to pull a second 3-2 overtime win out of their hat after scoring the tying goal late in the third period — just like they did against the Bruins their last time out.
It seems someone forgot to mention to 22-year-old netminder Yaroslav Askarov that the Oilers weren’t supposed to have any trouble with the Sharks. The American Hockey League call-up stood on his head, making 41 saves.
“He had a heck of a game. We knew what he was about and he did play very well tonight, he made a lot of key saves and there were also many opportunities where we’d miss the net,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. “Some empty nets where maybe it just got blocked, we hit goalposts, just missed the net.
“So, we did make him look better, but a lot of credit to him. He played well.”
You can’t win ’em all, of course, but you sure can’t follow up a string of big wins with an upset loss to a basement-dwelling opponent. Especially at home, where the Oilers (20-11-2) are now 11-7-1, only losing twice at Rogers Place in 11 games since mid-November.
While it was too close for comfort in this one, it sure wasn’t for lack of trying, as the Oilers sent anything and everything toward the Sharks net in a scoreless second period where they outshot San Jose 23-7 before finally finding pay dirt in the dying seconds of the third.
“It’s just the way it goes sometimes. You miss a couple of open nets and you have to fight right to the end to tie it. That’s hockey for you,” said veteran forward Corey Perry. “Stick with it.
“It’s about staying with the process. We played as a team tonight; we moved the puck around and made some great plays.”
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On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge