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The Edmonton Oilers are on a two game win streak. Last night’s 2-1 win over the Ducks was an absolute must-win scenario, and it keeps whatever dream the Oilers have of getting into the second season alive.
The trade deadline is tomorrow. I don’t think for a moment that the Oilers are buyers, but let’s see what’s going on in the Western Conference right now. Can the Oilers stack some wins and find themselves back into the thick of things?
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How slim are the Oilers’ playoff hopes right now? In short, pretty darn slim. With 42 points remaining in the season, they’ve got to cobble together at least 30 in order to have even a decent shot at getting into the second season.
THE GOOD: The Oilers are on a two game win streak! They took care of the Ducks without Connor McDavid after going half a period without a shot on goal. Not too bad, right? They’re now...seven points back of the second wild card spot. It’s not much, but it’s a little bit.
THE BAD: They’re still seven points back of a wild card spot, and there are five teams between themselves and the second spot. That’s a lot of acreage to jump over in 21 games. It’s completely possible, but the Oilers have to have a run coming up that would equal the run they had when Ken Hitchcock was named coach.
THE UGLY: The next five games are on the road. Tomorrow, it’s Nashville. Then, Toronto. Follow it up with visits to Ottawa, Columbus and Buffalo. There’s absolutely no room to miss right now, the Oilers need points. A club might be able to sneak into one of the wild card spots with a point total somewhere in the upper-80s this season, and the Oilers are currently on pace for a whisker under 78.
The Oilers need 8 out of 10 points on this road trip to keep the lights on.