Contemplating they have been picked by a substantial quantity of media members to win the Stanley Cup, the Edmonton Oilers’ sluggish begin to the 2024-25 season has caught many abruptly. Their file sits at 6-7-1 via 14 video games following a 4-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night.
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Whereas many are assured they’ll flip issues round, whispers are beginning to come up that maybe they aren’t pretty much as good as everybody thought. These questioning them appear to overlook how a lot worse they began final season, and are disregarding the truth that if something, getting these hiccups out of the way in which early is mostly a very good factor for a crew.
Higher Now Than Later
Very not often, if ever, will you discover a Stanley Cup-winning crew who didn’t undergo adversity in some unspecified time in the future all through the season. For instance, the Oilers final season. They began out the yr 2-9-1 and seemed like they have been going to overlook the playoffs fully. As a substitute, they rallied, performed some unbelievable hockey, and superior all the way in which to the Stanley Cup Remaining.
On the opposite facet of the chain is the 2022-23 Boston Bruins. They’d completely zero adversity all season lengthy, and their file wound up being the perfect in NHL historical past at 65-12-5. That file instructed that they have been heavy Stanley Cup favourites, which they have been. As a substitute of going the space, nonetheless, they have been eradicated within the first spherical by the Florida Panthers.
So many gamers are on file stating simply how vital adversity is. It isn’t enjoyable to undergo, however winds up making a crew that a lot tighter of a bunch. Primarily, despite the fact that it’s troublesome, you need your crew to undergo some adversity all through the course of a season. That mentioned, there are occasions which are means most well-liked over others to undergo it.
One of the best time to undergo adversity is within the early going of the season, which the Oilers are doing for a second straight yr. Early within the common season offers time to work out kinks, and permits for a crew to get again on observe and acquire confidence nicely forward of the playoffs.
The worst time to undergo adversity throughout a season is correct earlier than the playoffs. You by no means wish to go into the postseason on a chilly stretch, as it’s robust to regain confidence at the moment, particularly when different groups are providing you with their best possible. Many occasions previously, we’ve seen nice groups droop proper earlier than the playoffs solely to then be eradicated within the first spherical.
Price it within the Finish
Many Oilers followers are starting to develop annoyed with how their crew has performed to date this season, and that’s utterly cheap. The way in which they’ve began these previous two seasons isn’t acceptable, and seeing the highest stars battle the way in which they’ve is probably much more disappointing. With that mentioned, there’s lots to stay up for.
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This crew has confirmed over the previous three seasons that they’re one of many league’s finest, and that isn’t going to vary anytime quickly. So long as they’ve prime Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid on their roster, the wins will pile up. It isn’t occurring as shortly as followers had wished, however as talked about, you’d a lot relatively have some struggles now than late within the season, and even worse within the playoffs.
Whereas anticipating one other 16-game successful streak like we noticed in 2023-24 could also be wishful considering, it shouldn’t be lengthy earlier than we begin seeing them win video games in bunches. They’ll look to start out doing simply that on Saturday evening in a street recreation versus the Vancouver Canucks, a crew who they eradicated within the second spherical of the playoffs final season.
