Things haven’t been so great since beating the Calgary Flames on Dec 23. Edmonton proceeded to lose to Calgary in their next bout in a boring 3-2 affair. The Oilers beat the Jets the next game, which is expected as the Jets are one of the worst teams in the league at the moment, but the Oilers took a wicked down turn in a 6-2 New Years Eve beatdown against the Bruins, and a further 5-2 spanking doled out by the Flyers on Saturday.

Not a great stretch to end December on.

But December was a far stretch better than October and November. Edmonton won nine of their fifteen matches, and improved their goal differential by 13. And despite the brutal loss to the Flyers, Edmonton is largely maintaining their improved style of play heading into January.

The Oilers hosted the Nashville Predators at home on Tuesday night, and it wasn’t particularly close. Edmonton found the lone goal in the first period courtesy of Connor McDavid skating past the entire Nashville squad and potting one past Saros while everyone else on the ice watched – typical stuff from 97.

The Oilers exploded in the second period, adding three goals to their lead, including a penalty shot from Connor McDavid after he was held on a breakaway by Adam Wilsby.

The Predators made the game competitive for a moment in the third period, scoring two quick goals in a span of 30 seconds, but the Oilers rallied through the adversity and put a fifth goal on the board to settle down the comeback attempt. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins recorded his 500th assist on Connor McDavid’s 14th career hat trick to put a cherry on the top of the night to finish the score a convincing 6-2 Edmonton.

With the win over Nashville, Edmonton now sits second in the pacific with 48 points. The Golden Knights sit in first place with 48 points, with two games in hand, and many teams are eyeing the Oilers’ spot. Seattle and LA could both pass Edmonton with their games in hand, and other teams could hurdle past the Oilers if they were to go on another losing skid. The Pacific division is precarious at the moment, to put it lightly.

On a broader scale the Oilers sit in 14th place in the league, a far cry from the Colorado Avalanche who are sporting a ridiculous 31-4-7 record, i.e. 69 points in 42 games. The Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild are also ten points above Edmonton – at least one of these teams will be a roadblock for the Oilers if they wish to get to the Stanley Cup finals for their third year in a row.

There’s reason for optimism though. Firstly, the Oilers have had one of, if not the hardest schedules to start the season. Edmonton grinded out multiple 5+ game road trips in the Eastern conference – and because of their intense schedule they are done playing games in the Eastern time zone for the year. Unless the Oilers make it to the Stanley Cup finals this year, they will not play a game in the Eastern time zone until next October.

Secondly, the Pacific division is close, but the Oilers are clearly a step ahead from the other teams. They are tied neck and neck with the Golden Knights. The Oilers can out pace Seattle if they string together modest 0.600 hockey. The Ducks are on a 7 game losing skid. The Kings and the Sharks are okay at best, and the Flames and Canucks are non factors. Vancouver will finish just outside of a first overall pick, and Calgary will finish in 17th to grab their annual 16th overall pick. Not to mention, the Oilers are the only team in the Pacific division that have a non-negative goal differential. The Oilers are tied 145 goals, to 145 goals against. Every other team has more goals against than goals scored.

Lastly, Edmonton is going to pour it on after February. They’ve spoken to this multiple times. It’s much better to start peaking in February and March than it is to play lights out in November. Not that I wouldn’t like to see them play lights out to start the season; it must be nice to be a Colorado fan this season.

So far this year, just over half the games have been played and Edmonton sits in a careful playoff position after playing some of the most brutal hockey they are capable of. If that isn’t proof that this team has a high floor, I don’t know what is. The Oil are trending up, and as long as they make the playoffs, who really cares how?

The Oilers play their next game on the road against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.