Tomorrow night unofficially opens the second half of the NHL’s 2016-17 regular season. Every team has already passed the official 41 game mark (Edmonton has played 51), but post All-Star game is usually when people start to turn their sights towards the trade deadline, stretch drive and, eventually, the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
As things stand right now, the Edmonton Oilers have a damn good chance to end their ten year playoff drought and partake in the second season this April. With 64 points in the bank and 31 games remaining, the Oilers really only need to maintain a .500 points percentage the rest of the way to ensure themselves of a playoff spot.
The team currently sits in first place (tied with the Sharks, who have a game in hand) in the Pacific Division and that has people talking. What, truly, is the ceiling for this young Oiler team that is finally starting to find its way? Is it simply a playoff appearance? Possibly winning a round? Could this team do the unthinkable and make a deep run?
Depending how you answer that question, you might believe Edmonton’s window of opportunity is open. Matt Henderson over at OilersNation believes that the club’s window absolutely is open, and that the team can start asking what it’ll take to compete for the Stanley Cup. Sunil Agnihotri of the CoppernBlue isn’t as sure that the true window is open just yet, but believes this is certainly a playoff team.
Both of these guys are great writers and both make some great points in their articles. It is still very early in the process and we aren’t sure yet what this Oiler team is. That said, we all agree they are a playoff team at this point in time. How good of a playoff team remains to be seen.
When will we start to find out the answer to that question? I’d argue we start finding out right now.
The Big Test Lies Ahead:
Prior to Edmonton’s California sweep last week, Jonathan Willis wrote at OilersNation about how the club needs to be better against the NHL’s top ten teams. Prior to their two regulation victories over the Ducks and Sharks, the Oilers were just 3-7-3 against the NHL’s top ten. This week, they get two more top ten teams in Minnesota tomorrow night and Montreal Sunday afternoon.
The Oilers toughest remaining month is, without doubt, February. The club gets the bye week in the second week of the month, but it is a murder’s row of opponents with road games aplenty.
The Oilers open the month with a road trip through Nashville, Carolina and Montreal prior to the bye week. After that, the Oilers face the Blackhawks twice in a week and have a six game road trip.
The road trip opens with that second date against Chicago, then goes to Tampa, Florida, Washington, Nashville and St. Louis. It’s without doubt the toughest stretch on the schedule this season.
We’ll know a lot more about these Oilers after the month of February. If the team can stay afloat and go .500 or better, then I think we can start talking about seriously buying and going for it in what is a down year for the Western Conference. Less than .500, well that just shows this is still very much a growth team we are dealing with.
Final Thoughts:
The Oilers have a very friendly March schedule and should be able to do some damage then. January was a huge month for the club, and a win tomorrow night is simply a cherry on top of the sundae. That said, the toughest stretch of the season awaits and it will be a great measuring stick for this club. A good February means we can talk about just how good this team truly is.
Is the window open for the Edmonton Oilers? I personally am not ready to say yes, but the month of February is going to tell us a lot about this team and should give us some hints to the window question.
The sprint to the finish line, aka the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, is about to begin for the Edmonton Oilers. Are you ready? A lot of questions are going to be answered in the next few weeks.
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