The Olympic break is jamming everything up, so all teams will have to endure some hardship along the way
You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.
There is no crying in hockey.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
So the Edmonton Oilers took it on the chin and made the best of it when the NHL schedule nearly beat them into submission in the first two months of the season.
No weeping or moaning, they just did their best to grind it out until the madness ended and they could finally catch their breath.
So they don’t feel the least bit bad for the recent run of opponents who are undergoing the same gruelling torture test.
When the Winnipeg Jets arrived in town Saturday for the second game of a back-to-back, their third game in four nights and fourth game in six nights, they didn’t get a sympathy card. They caught a beating.
Essential Oilers news, insight, opinion and analysis.
By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of Oil Spills will soon be in your inbox.
We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again
Interested in more newsletters? Browse here.
When Buffalo plays here Tuesday night, it will be the second of a back-to-back set and the fourth game of a road trip that began in Philadelphia.
When Detroit plays here on Thursday, it will be the second of back-to-backs, the third game in four nights and the fifth game of a six-game road trip that began in Columbus.
Too bad, so sad. When your team has already been there and done that, all you’re thinking about is how to take advantage of everyone else’s misery.
“You saw it with Winnipeg, they had a tough trip, were home for one and then a back-to-back here,” said McDavid. “It seemed like they didn’t have a ton of juice.
“And then you saw Seattle come in here after not having played for a week. It’s a unique schedule for a lot of different reasons.
“Everyone is kind of going through their own thing, and our team is feeling pretty good after being home for a couple of rest days and some practice time.”
The Olympic break is jamming everything up, so all teams will have to endure some hardship along the way.
For Edmonton, it was borderline ridiculous. After opening the season with two games at home, they played 17 road games and seven home games over the next seven weeks. Of the 17 road games, there were five sets of back-to-backs. Of the seven home games, two were singles, home for one game before packing up and heading back out on the road.
They had to wear name tags around the house so the kids and the dogs would know who they were.
“It was a tough schedule with however many games in however many different cities,” said McDavid. “It’s tough. Eventually, the body gets tired. I liked how we went through it and how we came out the other side.”
Despite all of the consternation and concern, the Oilers came through their horrid stretch of scheduling with a respectable 11-10-5 record that actually seems pretty good when you consider all of the mitigating factors.
Now that they’re back at home and the schedule has cooled off a bit, you can see a striking difference in their game. That’s no coincidence.
“We’re just getting a little bit of juice back,” said McDavid. “The schedule has been crazy for everyone but ours was a little bit wild. I think guys were feeling it.”
Numerous elements spurred the uptick in their game, not the least of which is urgency, but they all point to rest and recovery as being predominant factors.
“In my opinion, that’s probably the biggest key,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch. “The road trips that we had we were either playing games or travelling, which is pretty hard on the guys.
“We didn’t have the luxury of giving the guys a day off (that didn’t include travel didn’t include travel) in the first seven weeks. We didn’t have practice time, either. Right now we’re in a good spot.”
Rookie Matt Savoie’s first real taste of the NHL ended up being one of the hardest runs the team has ever seen, but he says he and the team are better for it.
“It was definitely a grind,” he said, adding it helped bring the team together. “Lots of the guys were saying there are not many road trips that are like this.
“It was play, travel, play, have a day off, play. We weren’t practising much. To get more into the flow of a season has been good the last week or so, we’re hoping to build off this.”
At the expense, they hope, of teams at the other end of the scheduling spectrum.
LATE HITS — Noah Philp had his first contact practice since his injury and is inching back to being available, but the news isn’t as good for oft-injured defenceman Jake Walman. “He’s taking a little bit longer than we anticipated,” said Knobluach. “It’s not going to be this week, it might not be next week. It’s still going to be a while.”
Jack Roslovic and Kasperi Kapanen both expected back “around Christmas.” Connor Clattenburg, who took a stick near the eye a couple of games ago, needs a few more days before he can go on the ice.
E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com
Bookmark our website and support our journalism:Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.
You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.
365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4
© 2025 Edmonton Journal, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited.
This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
You can manage saved articles in your account.
and save up to 100 articles!
You can manage your saved articles in your account and clicking the X located at the bottom right of the article.
Hockey News