They say it’s lonely at the top.
At least, if the Edmonton Oilers get their way it will be.
They would like nothing more than a little well-earned solitude after reaching the top of the Pacific Division for the first time this season, having caught up to the Vegas Golden Knights in first place.
Edmonton’s current four-win streak closed a gap that sat at six points at the beginning of the week, with Thursday’s 4-3 comeback win against the Colorado Avalanche drawing them even with the Golden Knights atop the division at 61 points apiece.
(The Golden Knights (29-12-3) had a game in hand on the Oilers (29-13-3) prior to facing the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.
And it took no fewer than three multi-goal comeback victories in that four-game span in order for the Oilers to reach those new heights. Along with playing three games in four nights.
But if the blue-and-orange candle is indeed burning at both ends, the players aren’t showing it.
“The resiliency,” said Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard. “It’s not something that we necessarily want to do, to be behind.”
Then again, the Oilers got used to looking up at the competition from the very beginning this season.
After the shortest off-season in franchise history, the Oilers appeared to drag whatever post-championship-finals-appearance hangover they may have felt into the new season, promptly falling to 0-3 out of the gates.
They spent October chasing a .500 record to draw back to even before setting their sights on the long, arduous climb up the standings.
They spent November in the race for a wild-card spot, bouncing in and out of one until landing in legitimate playoff seeding territory for the first time on Nov. 30, if only for a day.
They got back into third place in the Pacific on Dec. 10 before making the push into second in time for the Christmas break. And they haven’t looked back since.
Of course, pushing the pedal to the metal and going 19-4-1 since Nov. 23 should have had the Oilers on a trajectory for first in the division well ahead of schedule. Except the rest of the Pacific’s top dogs also decided to run as a pack, with the Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings keeping pace with them.
Until now.
You’d think with things running the way they were, head coach Kris Knoblauch would be content to stay the course and not rock the boat. But the Oilers head coach hasn’t been afraid to shake things up along the way to avoid becoming stale.
Or maybe he’s simply trying to avoid becoming predictable and make things more difficult on the opposition’s game planning.
Either way, it’s become readily apparent over the course of this run they’re on that no position is written in stone, aside from, obviously, Connor McDavid.
But who’s manning his wings on any given shift can change wildly. Zach Hyman might be next to him, or all the way down on the third line trying to ignite things in order for Edmonton’s top-six into nine cylinders of offence.
Yup, the reigning 54-goal scorer from a season ago spending significant time on the third line.
While that example comes at the extreme end, we have seen almost anything and everything else in between, including Ryan Nugent-Hopkins going from McDavid’s left-wing to centre on the third line at one point.
Lately, however, Knoblauch has had his finger not just hovering over the red button, but pushing it all the way down.
Yes, the nuclear option that sees McDavid and Leon Draisaitl moved together in 5-on-5 whenever the Oilers offence needs a jump may have all of a sudden become a little more permanent.
Sure, there can be no denying the effectiveness of Draisaitl centring a second line between Vasily Podkolzin and (when healthy) Viktor Arvidsson, given the jolly German is leading the league in goals (31), plus-minus (+28), even-strength goals (24), overtime goals (four) and game-winning goals (nine).
Those numbers alone have been more than enough to balance the record-setting contract extension he signed over the off-season that will soon see him earn a whopping $14 million a year.
But here’s where it gets interesting. Knoblauch wasn’t afraid to tinker with the best-working offensive piece in the entire league, moving him up to play left wing next to McDavid and Hyman on the top line for the entire game in Denver.
And that’s where he stayed, including the third period where both of Edmonton’s big guns assisted on Bouchard’s game-winner to make it four unanswered goals after falling behind 3-0.
The red button certainly got the results Thursday, as McDavid had a goal and an assist and Draisaitl earned a pair of assists in the win. But it’s not one Knoblauch presses arbitrarily.
That game marked the first time since Game 6 of last year’s Stanley Cup Final that the Oilers coach put McDavid and Draisaitl together for the full 60 minutes.
Of course, there is another side to the lineup change, one that requires someone to fill the void left behind by the league’s leading scorer at second line centre.
And if Nugent-Hopkins is able to conduct things there, rather than riding the rails on McDavid’s left wing as usual, then the Oilers may just be ready to add the tactical advantage of an increased nuclear arsenal in their continuing climb.
After all, first place overall is well within striking distance, just four points away.
E-mail: [email protected]
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge