It’s Thanksgiving in the United States, and while they may be a Canadian team, the Edmonton Oilers have a lot to be thankful for these last 12 months.
In 2023, American Thanksgiving marked the turning point for captain Connor McDavid and the Oilers, as they began the most improbable run to the championship series in NHL history.
Edmonton had the best post-Thanksgiving record in the entire league, going 44-15-5 over its final 64 games, to climb from 30th place in the overall standings to second in the Pacific Division. From there, the Oilers won three playoff rounds to reach the Stanley Cup Final, before ultimately coming up just short, losing Game 7 to the Florida Panthers.
If this last year seems like a blur, that’s because it has been. Combining preseason, regular season and postseason games, Edmonton has played 119 games since American Thanksgiving in 2023, the most among all NHL teams over that span. Just 90 days separated Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final and Edmonton’s first preseason tilt.
Now is a rare quiet period for the Oilers, who are in the midst of a five-day break between games, providing an opportunity to reflect back on their incredible ride that started last Turkey Day.
Oilers Reach Breaking Point
On Nov. 22, 2023, Edmonton was throttled 6-3 by the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena to suffer a third straight loss and fall a whopping 10 points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Six weeks into the season, the Oilers had just five wins and had already made a coaching change. This felt like rock bottom.
At one point, TV cameras caught McDavid on the visitors’ bench, looking absolutely exasperated as he watched his struggling team on its way to yet another loss. Next to McDavid was Leon Draisaitl, who gave his teammate a supportive tap. The captain tapped Draisaitl back.
Never has such a simple gesture said so much: ride together, die together. It was the moment when the team’s two superstars decided, ‘enough is enough’.
Don’t Tell Edmonton the Odds
In the wake of their loss to Carolina, the situation looked bleak for the Oilers, who had a record of 5-12-1 for 11 points. No team with less than 12 points through its first 18 games had ever reached the Stanley Cup Final.
On top of that, American Thanksgiving serves as the NHL’s point of (almost) no return: Between the 2005-06 and 2022-23…
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