No one can blame the Edmonton Oilers if they were a little sad to see the calendar flip to 2024.
After all, the end of 2023 turned out to be pretty special for Connor McDavid and company.
The Oilers open 2024 with a home game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night riding a five-game winning streak, with all five wins coming on the road. It’s the longest active winning streak in the NHL (tied with the Seattle Kraken).
Edmonton closed out 2023 by winning 13 of its last 16 games dating back to Nov. 24, averaging 4.25 non-shootout goals in the process. That has helped the Oilers overcome a dismal 2-9-1 start to the season. They are now three points behind the Arizona Coyotes for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
The Oilers finished their three-game California portion of a six-game road stretch with a 3-2 shootout win at Los Angeles on Saturday night and followed that up 22 hours later with a 7-2 victory at Anaheim.
Warren Foegele led the way against the Ducks with two goals and three assists, his first career five-point game and the ninth NHL player this season to accomplish the feat. Foegele’s previous career high for points in a game was three.
“It’s kind of surreal, I guess. You don’t really think about those nights,” Foegele said. “But I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and linemates. We were moving the puck well and taking it to the net.”
Foegele’s linemates are Leon Draisaitl, who had a goal and two assists, and Ryan McLeod, who had a goal and an assist. Evander Kane, Zach Hyman and Brett Kulak also scored goals while Calvin Pickard made 28 saves.
Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch put together the line of Foegele, Draisaitl and McLeod prior to the start of their six-game road trip and it has paid big dividends. Draisaitl has scored a goal in three straight games.
“They’re starting to get some chemistry. They’re playing really well,” said Knoblauch, who improved to 15-6-0 since taking over as head coach for Jay Woodcroft on Nov. 13. “They are three guys who are good hockey players. I think they cycle the puck really well.”
“(McLeod) and I have played together a lot and now playing with such a great player like Leon, he dictates the play out there,” Foegele said. “We open up lanes with our speed and he can slow it down — he has such great vision and such a great shot. We’re just trying to keep it going.”
The Oilers now return home to host a Flyers team that has lost four of its last five games and had a nine-game road point streak snapped on Sunday in a 4-3 loss at Calgary.
Philadelphia, which is tied for third in the Metro Division with 43 points, fell behind 3-1 against the Flames before Bobby Brink cut it to 3-2 with 3:24 remaining. Blake Coleman sealed the win with an empty-netter.
The loss to the Flames came after a 2-1 overtime loss at Seattle on Friday.
“These last two efforts haven’t been our best,” Philadelphia forward Sean Couturier said. “So, it’s important to get on the right track and start coming back to checking the right way and doing a lot of the little things we’ve been doing all year. Go back to basics and trusting in our system and the way we play. Go back to our identity, I guess.”
This is the second meeting between the two teams. The Flyers, behind a pair of goals by Cam Atkinson and 22 saves by Carter Hart, won the first one, 4-1, on Oct. 19 in Philadelphia.
–Field Level Media