On Thursday, Edmonton Oilers General Manager Ken Holland spoke to the media in a rare public appearance. Holland mainly talked about the club’s agenda at the upcoming trade deadline and updated the status of some injured players, including Oscar Klefbom. He also touched on the team’s impressive turnaround, which came after a tough 3-6-0 start to the season.
Since then? The Oilers are 15-4-0 in their last 19 games, and sit in a good spot when it comes to the postseason as they approach the second half of the season. The Oilers, after a rough start, firmly control their own destiny when it comes to the playoffs.
“We were slow out of the gate. We were 3-6-0 in our first nine and then I think we went 14-5 in the last 19,” Holland began. “We had lots of new players when the season started. We lost Mike Smith on opening night and Koski had to go out there night after night every second night for the first 11 or 12 and we overworked him. We wanted to build the team to have both guys share time in the net. I liked that we’ve found ways to win. I liked that we had a tough, three-game series against Toronto and I liked that we really dug in and found a way to grind out a win against Calgary on Saturday night.”
There was worry among fans and media that the ‘tough’ series against Toronto could derail the Oilers. After all, they lost all three games and were outscored 13-1 in the process. In previous years, the team may have folded and failed to fight back. That hasn’t been the case, as the Oilers have won three straight since that series concluded.
On top of that, they are playing their best hockey with close to the full lineup that Holland and Head Coach Dave Tippett envisioned in the off-season.
“We’re finding different ways to win,” Holland proclaimed. “I think our goals-against have come down recently. We feel like we’re trending in the right direction. You can never get satisfied or complacent. Every night is a new challenge. We like that we’re in the thick of things. I still think it’s going to be a photo finish to make the playoffs in our division. We like the position we’re in but there’s still 28 games to go for us and half a season.”
The second half starts tonight, and the games will come fast and furious for the Oilers. The task at hand? An angry Senators team desperate to finally beat the Oilers and get revenge for Wednesday night’s debacle.
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