The Edmonton Oilers’ latest trip to the Eastern Conference began with the same result as their last trip to the Eastern Conference began.
You remember that one, coming out of the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off to a 6-3 drubbing at the hands of a Philadelphia Flyers team stuck near the bottom of the standings?
It was part of a season-high five-game losing skid for an Oilers team that rolled into the break sitting third overall in the standings and tied for first in the Pacific Division.
Of course, that changed when they returned from that trip having gone 1-4, which was a big dip for a group that rolled to a 22-6-2 record from the end of November to the end of January. Not to mention a big concern for the Rogers Place faithful, who have seen them slip to ninth in the NHL, while the Vegas Golden Knights are starting to run away with the division title — something Edmonton hasn’t earned since all the way back in 1987.
And that would see their grip slip on home-ice advantage the deeper they get into playoffs, which isn’t good news for this particular edition of the Edmonton Oilers.
Let’s forget for a second how last year’s team lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final by one goal playing away. Or how they had to squeak by, going 7-6 on the road to get themselves to the finish line, as opposed to the 8-4 record they posted at home in last year’s playoffs.
When one goal makes all the difference when it comes to who’s hoisting the Stanley Cup, every single advantage can make a difference along the way. Not the least of which is home-ice advantage.
So, when the Oilers opened another road trip with another loss Monday, this one 3-2 against a Buffalo Sabres squad stuck at the very bottom of the Eastern standings, you could chalk it up as just another road loss.
The thing is, the Oilers have been going through a lot of chalk lately …
A quick glance at the standings suggests while they might not be the road warriors the Minnesota Wild are, with their league-leading 22 away wins, Edmonton’s 17-11-2 road record shows they are nearly as comfortable playing away from Rogers Place as they are at home, where they’ve gone 19-11-2.
But the fact that six of those road losses — more than half their total — have come in their last nine away games is more than a little concerning. Especially when considering only one win in that 3-6 stretch came in regulation.
In those last nine road games, the Oilers had a goal differential of minus-9, meaning they’ve been spotting the opposition a goal before the puck even drops.
It’s a stark contrast for a team that came into Tuesday in the top 10 with a goal differential of plus-18 on the season.
But it’s not just the quantity of losses that have piled up on the road for the Oilers lately, but rather the quality — or lack thereof.
Sure, you can shrug off a 7-3 thumping by an Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals crew that sits second overall with a plus-63 goal differential. But when you’ve also fallen to Philadelphia and Buffalo at the other end of the standings spectrum, it doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
And confidently is exactly the way the Oilers need to get back to playing as they embark down the playoff stretch, the part of the season that typically falls right in their wheelhouse, having gone 11-6-4 after last year’s trade deadline, and an incredible 16-2-1 the previous year.
The way the playoff picture appears now, it’s shaping up to be yet another first-round clash with the Los Angeles Kings, whom the Oilers overcame to get to Round 2 in each of the past three seasons, by series wins of 4-3, 4-2 and 4-1, before going on to lose all three times to the Stanley Cup champs that year.
And while home-ice advantage is on their side, at the moment, for that one, the chances of it disappearing with each successive round is high.
In the 2023 playoffs, the Oilers went 3-3 both on the road and at home on the way to a second-round ousting by Vegas, and went 4-4 both on the road and at home on the way to getting swept by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2022 conference final round.
The bottom line is teams have to be able to win on the road when it matters most. And for an Oilers group hellbent on earning themselves a do-over in the Stanley Cup Finals this year, that means getting it figured out now.
The good news is 10 of their remaining 18 games are away, so they will have plenty of chances.
Or maybe that’s the bad news?
E-mail: [email protected]
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge