GENE'S BLOG: Second-Half Surge

A few days with no cold and no hockey seems very un-Canadian, but that's what happened over the weekend for every NHL team. In the case of the Edmonton Oilers, they last played on Wednesday and don't play again until Tuesday.
At the same time, as the amount hockey went down, the temperature went way up. From minus-20 to plus-10 over the course of about three days; almost too warm as I found out when I went for a Sunday skate with my daughter. There was lots of time for lots of people to get some items on their to-do list checked off.
One of the items was watching All-Star Weekend in Vegas, but after that, it might have been clearing the ice on the driveway or sidewalk. Quite possibly, you did some reading or caught up on household chores. Whatever you decided to do or not do, I hope you got some rest. You'll need it, and so will the Oilers.

Get ready, get set, go. That will be the way it is for so many teams, including the Oilers, when the unofficial second half of the season gets underway with a Tuesday night puck drop. For Edmonton, they are only one game past the middle point of the season. It's one of the reasons I haven't really paid too much attention to the playoff race because of the discrepancy in games.
For example, in the Pacific Division, here's a look at the games played column for the teams: Anaheim-48, Los Angeles-47, Vegas/San Jose/Vancouver-46, and then you'll find the Alberta teams at 42. Despite the difference in games played, the Oilers are only eight points out of first and three points out of a wildcard spot. I know my eyes and many others will start spending more time on positioning now that the league is through the all-star break.
Only in Vegas could you put together the kind of weekend it was for the NHL all-stars including Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. From everything I saw on Sportsnet or on Oilers TV, along with the team's social media channels, it looked like the Dynamic Duo had a great time. But now it's down to business.
The Captain's answer about not caring about winning a scoring title, instead being focused on a team title, shot down any ideas that McDavid isn't in it to win it for the Oilers - Machine Gun Kelly style. As he said on Friday's Tim and Friends episode on Sportsnet, he wants to stay in Edmonton and win in Edmonton. As we know, his sometimes wingman Draisaitl feels the exact same way -- two extraordinary talents who have one common goal.

The regular-season mad dash will start for Edmonton on Feb. 8 and won't stop until April 29. In between those 78 days will come 39 games. The math is easy on this -- it's a game every two days. Things are looking up for Edmonton on the health and wellness side. The wellness of Mike Smith looks very close to being complete, and his return is imminent.
It's amazing what it will mean to have a netminder and a leader like Smith back on the ice and in the room. As for the COVID-19 Protocol list, it's been a long one with only a handful of Oilers who haven't been on it. For superstitious reasons, I will not mention names that haven't been hit with the virus. The point being that they are through the worst of it and still find themselves in good standing among those they are grappling with for post-season positioning.
With restrictions in the province likely to be lifted by the end of February, it will be the perfect time to have Rogers Place full for the final push to the playoffs.
There is a lot to look forward to for the Oilers over the remainder of the 2021-22 season. They're in a good place, and it should only get better thanks to a second-half surge.