Three Key Things: It was a hell of a run, mistakes prove costly, and the Oilers vs. Golden Knights rivalry

After a week and a half of waiting, the Edmonton Oilers finally resumed their schedule for the back half of the 2023-24 season with a chance at a 17th consecutive win. Standing in their way of glory was the defending champ Vegas Golden Knights, and exactly as predicted, last night’s game was as close to a playoff matchup as you can get in February. Unfortunately, a fine effort by Edmonton was spoiled by a few missed chances and a hot goaltender, resulting in a 3-1 loss.

WHAT A RUN

As much as it sucks that Oilers’ winning streak is over, I wanted to kick off the article by saying how much fun it was to watch them rattle off a month and a half worth of wins. Only four times in NHL history has a team won every single game in a month, and the Oilers are now among that tiny list. It was a heater unlike any I’ve ever experienced, and to have it come in a year that started as badly as this one did was a magical ride worth celebrating.

Regardless of what anybody says regarding the competition or how the schedule played out, the reality is that if winning 16 games in a row was easy, then every team would do it. Instead, only two teams in NHL history have won 16 straight games, and only one team has ever won more than that, and that’s a fantastic accomplishment that was so much fun to experience.

ONE MISTAKE TOO MANY

Was anyone else worried about how rusty the Oilers would be after doing whatever it was that the boys got up to over the week and change? Listen, I know what I’d get up to if I had that much time off, and I have fifteen cents to my name. Imagine what it must be like for a twenty-something millionaire (or close to it) when they have a week to do whatever they want.

Some of these boys probably still stink like cocktails, but there was a job to do, and my hope was that they would be sharp enough to avoid getting caught with costly mistakes. With the chances at both ends, strong defensive plays, and high-quality goaltending, it almost felt like a playoff game, given the atmosphere and the fact that there was no free ice available anywhere. It was intense, to say the least.

Unfortunately, when a game is that close, it always ends up being one mistake that proves costly, and in this case, it was a missed read by Ceci early in the third period that allowed Chandler Stephenson the space he needed to make a play. Unfortunately, that gaff resulted in the game-winning goal, and it was the exact kind of thing Oilers fans are talking about when they say they want an upgrade. Yet, to be fair to the guy, winning in the NHL is pretty tough when you only get one goal.

I CAN’T STAND THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS

You know the rivalry is getting good when you can’t stand the team the Oilers are going up against, and that is certainly the case when the boys are up against the Golden Knights. That loss in the second round against what I thought was a beatable Vegas team still stings, and it was almost poetic that the boys had the chance to tie the league record for most wins in a row if they could only find a way past the Stanley Cup Champs.

As expected, the atmosphere at T-Mobile Arena was fantastic, and the Oilers fans who made their way down did everything they could to make it feel like a home game for the boys.  It was the kind of game where there were so many road fans in the building that a win would have likely cleared the place early and left only our chants ringing out through the arena. The table was set for jubilation.

So to have the game end with Golden Knights fans celebrating the win like it was Game 7 of the Cup Finals had me seething. Their happiness was my misery, and it’s a feeling that can only come when you’ve met up and lost in the playoffs. In fact, i’tr’,s healthy to have fanbases you despise. On the bright side, a rivalry like this sets us all up for what would surely be a fantastic playoff series a few months from now. On the downside, the stress of that series might kill us all.

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