EDMONTON, AB - It was a long, successful road trip.
A three-game sweep through the Big Apple contributed to a season-opening five-game win streak for the Oilers that was snapped at the final hurdle in Chicago on Monday before returning home to begin a brief two-game homestand tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Oilers trailed in every victory, digging deep with a fightback mentality from every player in the lineup to come from behind in each contest before a 3-1 loss to the Blackhawks stopped the streak.
"Last game in Chicago might not have been our best effort as a team, but everyone's still pulling and we had a shot at the end of the game," forward Alex Chiasson said pre-game. "We're right there and it's a one-goal game, so there are good things this group is doing. I know it's early in the season, but it's great to get off to one of these starts."
By the players' admissions, each win wasn't pretty. But their ability to find multiple routes to victory was a massive takeaway to go along with their 10 points in the standings through six games.
"Obviously it's been a great start for the team. A lot of new faces," Chiasson continued. "I said it before that there's been a lot of change in this organization, and I think it was a key for us to get off to a good start.
"One thing for sure is that it makes everyone feel good about themselves. It gives confidence in the locker room. This is a good place to be right now for us."
Having the win streak end is a great excuse to begin anew against a Philadelphia side playing the second game of a back-to-back after losing 3-1 in Calgary the night prior.
"We've got to come out hard," forward Patrick Russell, who's drawing back into the lineup for the first time tonight since October 10, said. "They're a hard-working team, but we just have to outwork them and I feel we have the guys here to do that. So hopefully we can do that and get a win."
CHIASSING IMPROVEMENT
The Chiass is on for the 29-year-old Montreal, Quebec product.
It wasn't the start Chiasson imagined after missing the first three games of the season with an illness after coming off a career year of 22 goals and 38 points over 73 games in 2018-19 after arriving at the Oilers Training Camp on a professional tryout.
"It's time for me to get going," he said from the Oilers dressing room this morning. "Obviously with what happened the first 10 days of the season being out a little bit, I felt like the last two games were a step in the right direction. But it's time for me to get going here, playing on the inside and around the net and doing what I do best."
