No, Oilers fans, you’re not holding the standings upside down.
Monday’s NHL standings show the Edmonton Oilers with a record of 16-7-3. They’re in first place in the Pacific Division with a four-point lead over the Arizona Coyotes.
But the Oilers long-suffering fans are sometimes reluctant to embrace success, having seen the club miss the playoffs 12 of the last 13 seasons.
Are the Oilers for real? Are they, finally, a good hockey team?
“We’ve come a long way since the start of training camp. Lots more to go,” said general manager Ken Holland in an interview with Oilers Now host Bob Stauffer.
“The elite teams, they go on run in the playoffs. The good teams, they make the playoffs. First order of business is to keep our foot on the pedal. We have to find a way to play our way into the playoffs.
“Then we have to make some noise in the playoffs,” said Holland.
So the general manager is taking the wait-and-see approach, but the numbers to this point are impressive. The Oilers are seventh in goals against, twelfth in goals for, second on both the power play and penalty kill.
“I can’t go very far without talking about the impact that (head coach) Dave Tippett has had on our team and our organization,” said Holland. “He’s in that locker room on an everyday basis. Right from day one of camp, he wanted our team to play a certain way. All the players have bought in.”
The Oilers next test comes on Wednesday when they visit the Colorado Avalanche.
On the weekend, they have a home-and-home with division foe Vancouver. These are more chances for Holland to evaluate his roster and see what, if any, changes he might want to make down the road.
“About a month before the trade deadline, the chatter starts a little bit,” explained Holland. “We’re a couple of months away from that. If we can continue, certainly it’s my job, my responsibility to try to see if you can, at the right price, add another little piece.”
Catch the Oilers and Avalanche on 630 CHED on Wednesday with the Face-off Show at 6 p.m. The game will start at 8 p.m.
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