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Oilers: from 31st place to a final victory in 200 days

 David Miller
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Oilers: from 31st place to a final victory in 200 days
Credit: Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images
The Edmonton Oilers made a change to their head coach last November.

The Oilers fired Jay Woodcroft after only 3 wins in 13 games to start the season.

Kris Knoblauch took over, and since his arrival behind the bench, the Oilers have been on fire.

The team enjoyed rapid success with a 16-game winning streak, which came to an end against the Vegas Golden Knights.

They were just one win away from the NHL record.

And so, in a span of 200 days, the Oilers went from 31st in the NHL to just one win away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final.

Incredible, nonetheless.

It’s not every year that a situation like this happens.

It’s rare, but it has happened before.

In 2019, the St. Louis Blues were in a similar situation.

After 19 games and a 7-9-3 record, the Blues fired head coach Mike Yeo to make room for a certain Craig Berube, who recently signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Under Berube, St-Louis recorded 38 wins, 19 losses and six overtime defeats.

The team went on to take top honours.

With Knoblauch on the bench, the Oilers posted an excellent 46-18-5 record.

Edmonton has the offensive punch to go all the way. There’s no doubt about it.

On the other hand, we know they’re struggling defensively, despite the presence of Evan Bouchard, who’s having a terrific playoff run.

The latter collected no fewer than 25 points in 17 playoff games in 2024, after collecting 82 points and 18 goals in 81 games this season.

There’s another question mark in Edmonton, however, and that’s consistency in front of the net.

Stuart Skinner has his moments and his potential, but he lacks consistency, and in the playoffs, that can be very costly.

Before joining the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final, the Oilers will have to eliminate the Dallas Stars, something they could do as early as tonight, in game #6.

The Stars have inserted young Quebecer Mavrik Bourque into their line-up for tonight, hoping to get a little more offense.

Game #6 of the Western Conference Finals kicks off at 8:00 p.m. tonight.


Highlights

– Happy birthday to Jake Evans.

– The Oilers’ two guns will be looking to continue their hot streak in Game #6.

– Interesting.

– Well played by the Jays.

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