FEATURE: Oilers and Avalanche built for success

DENVER, CO - The journey back to the National Hockey League summit is hardly ever a linear one and few teams know that as well as the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche.
Years of expectations and tribulations for the two teams have finally led to this Western Conference Finals matchup. According to the Oilers Head Coach, it has been those prior experiences along the way that has made this Tuesday's Game 1 conflict a reality.
"It's not something that is built immediately, it's built brick by brick," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "We had a philosophy that success is built sequentially. We just wanted to stack a good day on top of a good day. A lot of the local media that are here right now have heard me say ad nauseum that we want to take care of the day's business. If we take care of things on a day-to-day, the outcomes will take care of themselves."
The outcomes are finally falling in the Oilers and Avalanche's favour. Both teams are bolstered by some of the game's brightest stars, but the deep post-season runs that turn those players into legends has so far eluded both squads.
It's the cruel consequences of a 32-team league filled with so much parity. Despite the level of success that any playoff team will experience over the course of a season, for all but one the ending will be marred with failure. According to the Oilers architect, it's the lessons learned that sets up a team for eventual post-season triumph.

ROUND 3: Colorado Avalanche
PRE-GAME VIDEO
THE PANEL | Round 3 Preview
RAW | GM Holland & Coach Woodcroft
RAW | McDavid & Draisaitl
RAW | Nurse & Smith
OTHER SIDE | MacKinnon & Landeskog
PRE-GAME WRITTEN & BLOGS
TALKING POINTS: Oilers Talk WCF
BLOG: Experienced Evander
BLOG: Into Thin Air
"We went through it in San Jose, we went through it in Detroit, it's experience," Oilers General Manager Ken Holland said. "You have to go through it multiple times and there is going to be disappointments and you have to learn from those disappointments. The manager learns from those disappointments and makes some tweaks, and so do the coaches and the players and they're more prepared for the next go around."
The Western Conference Finals will feature a pair of teams who are very cognisant of the fact that despite winning the majority of your games against the world's best, there is only one who will reach the NHL summit.
After a Cinderella run back in 2006, the Oilers were absent from the post-season for over a decade. Upon their playoff returns, with two of the best players to currently play in the National Hockey League in their stable, a mixed run of success and setback saw the Oilers flirt with the third round only once, but they were unable to advance in a controversial series against the Anaheim Ducks back in 2017. A few more post-season burnouts have, in hindsight, helped this iteration of the Edmonton Oilers be prepared for the trials they are currently facing.
"We played in the play-in series against Chicago, and I thought we played regular-season hockey and got beat out in four. I thought last year we played playoff hockey, it was tight, it was hard and all three games went to overtime," Holland said. "I think the experiences, our team is more ready for this year's playoffs and a little more mature because of the internal growth and some of the moves that we made. With Woody it has all come together down the stretch and into the playoffs."

The addition of Jay Woodcroft seems to have been one of the final pieces of the puzzle. After what the Oilers GM called a 'gut decision' to make the move to replace the incumbent Dave Tippett with a rookie head coach from Bakersfield, the Oilers were able to band together and overcome, eventually resulting in this trip to the Western Conference finals. The Edmonton bench boss has used the season's swaying pendulum of momentum to help teach a willing Oilers roster how to hang with the NHL's elite.
"I agree with Ken. You have to go through some of the scars in order to see some growth. It's not always fun, but at some point, the fabric of your team gets tested and over our three months here I've seen different growth opportunities present themselves," Woodcroft said. "We wanted to capitalize on those. One of the messages we give to our team is the old saying that the road to success is paved with mistakes well handled. For us, that is something we really look to capitalize on. To seize on those mistakes and make sure you're highlighting them and learning from them."
In the opposite locker room, the Oilers are facing off against third round foes with a similar story to their own. Colorado saw a period where a once elite franchise finally bottomed out. They would use that time to rebuild and stock their roster with young and dynamic talents who were among the game's best at their respective position. The path to success wasn't always a direct one, with the Avalanche shaking up their leadership by appointing franchise legend Joe Sakic as their General Manager in 2014 and Jared Bednar as head coach in 2016.
Now the Avalanche are back near the top of the Western Conference standings on a consistent basis, but despite four top two Western Conference finishes since 2013-14, Colorado had continuously found themselves roadblocked before the conclusion of the second round. The Avalanche 'stuck with it' much like the Oilers have and are finally reaping the fruits of their labours, reaching the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
"You got to keep trying. If you believe in your core, you just try to keep building around it and wait for some internal growth," Ken Holland said about overcoming the playoff hump. "Woody and I know in 2006, Edmonton beat us in the first round and we had 126 points. There was talk that the Red Wings at that time were too European and too small, but we believed in the team, so you tweak. Next year you come back and you go a little further. There are so many teams that are so close, it's such a fine line league that you have to stick with it. Certainly, that's what Joe Sakic has done and I think that's what lots of teams do."

In the case of the Oilers, the tweaks Ken Holland made to the roster since their recent playoff letdowns are paying massive dividends. Offensive addition in Evander Kane and Zach Hyman currently leads the Oilers in post-season goals with 12 and eight respectively. The veteran presence of Duncan Keith has provided the leadership and experience to help a Bakersfield product in Evan Bouchard thrive as a top four defenceman. Lastly, the change in the man delivering the message maybe made the largest impact on the season. Holland believes the Oilers likely wouldn't be in the position they find themselves in today without the midseason appointment of Woodcroft.
"I don't know if we'd be here if it wasn't for the impact that Woody has had on our team. Certainly our players have played at a high level, and our team has really responded to Woody," Holland said. "He brought in some little tweaks and we really tightened it up. He's had a great communication with our team and Woody is a big factor in us sitting here today."