Oilers have a losing record against top teams this season
The Edmonton Oilers have struggled against the league’s top teams this season.
Despite working their way back into a playoff spot, much of the Oilers’ success has come at the expense of beating up on teams that won’t be making the postseason and ones that sit near the bottom of the standings.
Last night’s dismal 5-0 loss at the hands of the Western Conference-leading Dallas Stars accentuated that point as the Oilers now have a less-than-stellar 7-10-3 record against top-10 teams this season.
Compare this to the team’s record against teams ranked anywhere from 11th to 32nd, which is 38-14-2. This stat was shown on Sportsnet’s broadcast last night, though it did not include Edmonton’s loss to Dallas.
Imma just leave this here for anyone who thinks this is the Oilers year to win the cupšš¤£ pic.twitter.com/xjPJ48ekxV
— Justin Thompson (@JustinremiThom2) April 4, 2024
The good record against bad teams isn’t much of a surprise. Of course, the Oilers are beating teams outside or on the fringe of the playoff picture, which is what good teams are supposed to do, so it would be concerning if that wasn’t the case for Edmonton.
However, not cutting even against teams you are supposed to be in the same tier with is concerning. There are some caveats to the poor record, as the majority of those losses came during the first two months of the season when absolutely nothing was going right for the Oilers.
This includes three losses to the Vancouver Canucks, a shutout loss to the New York Rangers, one to the Dallas Stars, and another at the hand of the Carolina Hurricanes.Ā Since those games, Edmonton has been able to beat each of those teams at least once, save for the Canucks.
It’s easy to look at a 5-0 loss and suddenly worry about whether this team is capable of a deep playoff run. The post-trade deadline Oilers have not been the world-beaters they were in January, but they are still a good hockey club.
It’s not a guarantee that the Oilers go all the way to the cup, but a bad stretch during a long season won’t decide what happens in the postseason.