Stop and Smell the Roses

The Decade of Darkness is over.

After 10 consecutive seasons of being on the outside looking in at a playoff spot, the Edmonton Oilers finally have a little ‘x’ next to their name in the standings, guaranteeing the return of playoff hockey to the city of Edmonton once again.

As a long time Oilers fan, I think I speak for all us when I say that it hasn’t exactly been pretty to watch over the last ten years. In fact, since the cup run in 2006, it’s been downright ugly. It’s been a series of numerous lows with the highs sprinkled in few and far between.

But thing are changing.

First, let’s start with the obvious. Connor McDavid. He currently sits at 97 points in 80 games, with 30 goals and 67 assists. His 97 points and 67 apples are both tops in the league, and the next closest contestants in the Art Ross race, Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane, are nine points behind Connor with 88 each.

Connor’s 30 goals this year is the first time an Oiler has hit the 30 mark since Jordan Eberle had 34 in 2011-12. His 97 points are the first 90 plus point season by an Oiler since Doug Weight in 2000-01, and he has a legitimate chance to reach 100, which would make him the first Oiler to reach the century mark since Weight did it all the way back in 1995-96.

All this and not to mention the kid is on a 12 game point streak, scoring a ridiculous 7-15-22 in that span. Needless to say, McDavid has been simply magnificent.

Some other guy named Leon has had a pretty good year too. Draisaitl is coming off of his own hefty point streak, posting 5-14-19 in a recently snapped 11 game span. His 75 points (28 goals, 47 assists) are good for ninth in the league, and 24 more than his breakout sophomore season.

Patrick Maroon has been a revelation, netting 27 goals on the year and easily more than doubling his previous career high of 12. Shoutout to the Anaheim Ducks for retaining salary on the Maroon trade so that Patty can celebrate all his goals with us Oilers fans!

Swedish defenceman Oscar Klefbom has shown his tremendous value as a slick puck moving rearguard, notching 12 goals and 36 points on the backend, while Andrej Sekera has also chipped in as a workhorse with a solid 35 points. Boy, it sure is nice to have some offence from the blue line. The last time the Oilers had any defencemen post 35 or more points was in 2008-09, when Sheldon Souray racked up 53 and Denis Grebeshkov had 39.

Marquee free agent signing Milan Lucic has been heating up as of late, with 11 goals in his last 18 games. The bruising power forward has also been a power play staple, as 12 of his 23 goals have come on the man advantage.

Speaking of the man advantage, unlikely power play ace Mark Letestu has contributed 10 PP goals(!) despite being the team’s fourth line centre. Rambunctious winger Zack Kassian has been a consistent and voracious forechecking presence with a surprising scoring touch.

Rookie defender Matt Benning has helped solidify the right side of the defensive depth chart, as has Adam Larsson, whose physical play has brought a much needed element to the backend. Larsson’s 248 hits rank sixth in the entire league.

I can’t end this article without talking about Cam Talbot. Talbot has been an absolute rock for the Oilers. His 41 wins are the most in a single season by any Oilers goaltender EVER. His seven shutouts are the second highest single season total in Oilers history, and also tied for third most in the NHL this year.

Among goaltenders, Dadbot leads the league in games started, time on ice, shots against and saves. The aforementioned 41 wins tie him for second in the league, and he accomplished all of these impressive feats with a stellar 91.9% save percentage. Without Talbot being a brick wall behind the rest of the team, this season would be toast.

I’ll wrap things up here for now, but I hope you see what I’m getting at. It’s been a great year for Oilers fans so far. We could quite possible have home ice advantage in the first round, when was the last time we could say that?!

If you take anything from this article, let it be this; enjoy the ride. Look at what this team has achieved so far this year and appreciate it, because it’s been long overdue.

Take a minute to stop and smell the roses, and get ready for playoff hockey.

Tweet me @SullivanJLarson