EDMONTON, AB - The Oilers return home to Rogers Place looking to get back on track after a brief setback in Montreal to end their recent four-game road trip.
Edmonton had gone 11-consecutive contests where they had registered at least a point, but the second game of the back-to-back was ultimately the undoing of that streak. Despite a 2-1-1 road trip, the Oilers Captain knows that this team is capable of much more heading into Wednesday night's contest against the Detroit Red Wings.
"I mean, picking up five-of-eight points is not terrible, but It's not it's not great either," Connor McDavid said. "We felt like our game, before the break, we felt we were playing good. I think our game has maybe taken a bit of a step back since, and we've got to find it again pretty quick."
The Oilers recipe for success as of late has been Head Coach Jay Woodcroft's usage of 11 forwards and seven defencemen on a regular basis. The setup has allowed the Oilers coach to create competition among the forward group for ice time, while slotting his defencemen in situational roles which greater fit their strengths.
It was Warren Foegele, who sat out in the game before the NHL All-Star break, who responded with a goal in his first game back against the Detroit Red Wings on Feb. 7. In his stead, Jesse Puljujarvi was relegated to watching the game from the press box above. The Finnish forward was re-inserted into the lineup against the Ottawa Senators and rewarded his coach with the game-winning goal in his 12:18 of ice time.
The breeding of competition among a locker room all pulling in the same direction has helped elevate the entire team's level of play.
"(Coaches) can say all we want, but when players feel the competition to be in the lineup, I think that says all that needs to be said. I think one of the things that we've had going on here since Christmas time is that it's been very competitive to get into our lineup," Woodcroft said. "Sometimes guys get taken out of it for reasons that have nothing to do with poor play. It's just the fact that we want to look a certain way, and that means some good players don't get into the lineup that night. I think maintaining that level of flexibility is important for us. I think it's helped us have the type of success that we've had in the month of January and early February."
Another area where Edmonton has seen a reversal of fortunes is in their home record. Edmonton entered the New Year with an 8-11-1 record at Rogers Place and now sport a 13-11-3 mark prior to tonight's matchup against the Red Wings.
"You've got to win at home, and we know that obviously," McDavid said. "We haven't been good enough at home all season long and it feels like we've been gaining a little bit of momentum here. We're just really focusing on our game when we're here, and we've put a few together in a row here, and need to do it again tonight."