Only two teams have fewer losses than the Oilers this season
The Edmonton Oilers appear to be a much better team than a quick glance at the NHL standings would suggest.
By no means do the Oilers look like a struggling team, as they sit 10th in the league standings with 83 points on the season. One thing that sticks out almost immediately is that they have played fewer games than almost every NHL team. Their 64 outings this season are the lowest amount played by any team in the Western Conference and are tied with the Ottawa Senators for the fewest in the entire league.
Taking it a step further, they have only dropped three games that have gone past regulation time. There are many who believe the NHL should drop the loser point altogether, and if that were the case, the Oilers would be among the top teams in the standings this season.
Their 40-21-3 record on the season shows that they have lost 24 games. That marks the fewest losses of all teams in the Western Conference, despite the fact that four teams, the Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, Winnipeg Jets, and Vancouver Canucks all sit above them.
The only teams with fewer losses on the season are the Florida Panthers (45-18-4) and the New York Rangers (43-19-4). Meanwhile, their 40 wins put them in a three-way tie for sixth in the NHL with the Stars and Hurricanes, despite having played four fewer games than the Stars and two fewer than the Canes.
While the current structure of the points system can be debated, the Oilers’ limited losses this season show they are an even stronger team than they are being given credit. It’s made all the more impressive when remembering that they started the season 2-9-1, meaning 10 of their 24 losses came in the first 12 games. Since that horrendous start, they have put together a 38-12-2 record.
If the playoffs were to start today, the Oilers would face the LA Kings, who, with a 34-21-11 record, have the most losses of any team in a playoff position in the Western Conference. While the postseason is always unpredictable, there are certainly reasons to feel confident heading in if you’re an Oilers fan.
- You might also like:
- TV panel perfectly predicted Oilers’ opening goal