Oilers can quickly make up ground with team-friendly schedule ahead

Sunday night’s victory over the Calgary Flames in the Heritage Classic was a step in the right direction, but the Edmonton Oilers still have plenty of ground to make up.

The Oilers haven’t had a good start to the 2023-24 season, as they own a 2-5-1 record. While it did feel like a weight was lifted off of their shoulders after their recent 5-2 win over the Flames, there is no denying that their slow start has put them in a bit of a hole when it comes to the standings. The good news is that they have a very friendly upcoming schedule that should help them turn things around.

The start of the Oilers friendly schedule begins tonight, as they are set to take on the Dallas Stars on home ice. The Stars aren’t an easy team by any means, as they entered the season a Stanley Cup contender. That said, they may not have their best legs under them, as they will be in the second half of a back-to-back after defeating the Flames 4-3 last night.

After the Stars, the Oilers will play the Nashville Predators on Saturday, a team that wasn’t expected to do much this season and have a 4-5-0 record thus far. The Vancouver Canucks will be up next, and despite the Canucks’ hot start to the season, they are a team the Oilers can beat if the latter plays to the level they are capable of.

The San Jose Sharks, a team who has just nine goals in nine games this season, will be up next, followed by a struggling Seattle Kraken squad. If the real Oilers are back after their slow start, they could realistically win all of those games, which would improve their record to 7-5-1. They would then play another beatable team, the New York Islanders, before facing off against the Kraken once again.

After that second game against the Kraken, the Oilers’ schedule does become trickier once again, but they should have some much-needed confidence by then, assuming they are able to win all, or at least most, of the games in between. They’ll look to chip away at the hole they are in tonight against the Stars, with puck drop set for 7 pm MT.

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