Edmonton Oilers, who are on a roll, have a fantastic opportunity to win a playoff rematch.
But this is now, and that was then. And after an incredibly disappointing start to a season they went into riding on very high expectations, the Oilers hadn’t done much to even earn their way back into the playoff conversation, let alone contention, until last week. Instead, they collapsed quickly and severely, witnessing their captain suffer an early injury, miss two games, and appear completely different from his previous self.
It’s only recently that he’s starting to look like himself again, leading his team to a winning streak of two games with solid victories over the Washington Capitals (5-0) and Anaheim Ducks (8-2), in which he totaled eight assists and one goal. And it’s occurring right before Tuesday’s eagerly anticipated rematch with the champions. “We’re going to measure our performance against one of the best teams in the league, if not the best team in the league, so it’s a big game,” McDavid remarked. “We should be looking forward to it; it’s a good measuring stick game for us.”
There is, after all, nothing like knocking off the top dogs to help the underdogs build a little more momentum.ย โEvery team is a really good team in this league,โ said Zach Hyman, who scored two goals Sunday to secure his grip on the team lead with 12 on the season. โI think we found that out pretty early that there are no easy games and that you have to bring your A game every night.ย โVegas is obviously a really good team, defending champs and they knocked us out. I am looking forward to it.โ