PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Lightning

The Edmonton Oilers take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night at Rogers Place in search of their ninth consecutive victory.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet One at 7:00 PM MT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630CHED.

Subscribe to Oilers+ to unlock the Pre-Game Show that will begin 30 minutes before puck drop, along with more exclusive live and behind-the-scenes content.

PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Blackhawks

EDMONTON, AB – Eight consecutive victories later, the Edmonton Oilers believe their game is in a much more comfortable, manageable and sustainable position.

“Of course,” forward Leon Draisaitl said of the mood after Wednesday’s practice. “It's a cliche, right? But winning makes everything better. It's just the way it is. Everyone's happy, everyone's feeling good about their game. It's non-comparable to what the mood was like a month ago. 

Three weeks ago in Raleigh, the Blue & Orange were coming off allowing four goals in the first period on the road in a 6-3 defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes that sunk their overall record to 5-12-1 and their third consecutive loss.

Today, the Oilers are eyeing up winning their ninth straight victory on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning that would match a franchise record after they dispatched Connor Bedard & the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 at Rogers Place in a composed performance.

“That would be amazing of course, but we're in no position to look that far,” Draisaitl said of the franchise-best mark of nine straight wins. “We’ve got to take this one game at a time and continue to get better, continue to build, and I think that's where our mindset is at right now.”

The Oilers fell to 10 points out of a playoff spot in the race for a Wild Card spot in the Western Conference standings after that loss in Carolina, with a lot of questions being asked in the locker room about what needed to be done to turn their season around at this salvageable point of the 2023-24 campaign.

“I think there was a lot of frustration. Obviously, we're sitting near the bottom of the standings. We had just lost three games in a row after that Carolina game. There wasn't much to be optimistic about,” Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. 

“But I think we looked at our goals and what we needed to do, and we didn't look at the long term. We just looked at what we needed to do within the next game and maybe even the next two or three weeks, and we just did some goal-setting.

“I think that was able to clear everybody's mind and think about if we just take care of these things now, we're going to put ourselves in a good position down the road.”

Since Knoblauch’s arrival behind the Oilers bench, the head coach has helped calm the waters by helping his players operate more freely; without hesitation in their game; through a simple approach focused on team defending, having the defence make plays to get the pucks into their forwards’ hands and committed forechecking in their opponents’ zone.

It’s helped the Oilers assemble a 10-3-0 record in their last 13 games, including their current eight-game win streak that’s been building since they finished off a four-game road trip on the East Coast with a 5-0 shutout of the Washington Capitals back on Nov. 24.

“I think we just simplified it a little bit early on in our winning streak, and then our confidence just kind of came back and you can see guys not gripping their sticks as much, and everyone's taking a breath and playing hockey,” Draisaitl said.

“So much of this game is obviously in your head, and when you get off to a bad start, sometimes it just spirals on you and we obviously went through that. So great job by everyone pulling ourselves out of it, but obviously, there's lots of work left to be done.

Part of that calming presence from Knoblauch involved breaking the season down into eight-game segments to help his players focus on the next few games, rather than thinking about where they’ll be at the end of the season if they weren’t able to go on a run.

With an eight-game win streak intact heading into the start of another leg of the long NHL regular season, the Oilers believe they’re now well-equipped to make a run at establishing themselves in the playoff picture – currently one point behind the Arizona Coyotes for the final Wild Card spot with two games in hand.

“We had to do a little bit better one or maybe two of those segments. This last segment certainly helps us, but I think when the players saw and understood that we didn't need to go on a 10-0 run and we didn't have to go on this unbelievable streak. We just had to take care of these little segments and things should work out.”

While results have been showing, Coach Knoblauch maintains that it’s important that his group doesn’t lose sight of the job that still needs to be done before they even think about the playoffs.

“We just need to be getting better every day, and certainly, we should be very happy and proud of the way we're playing right now and we're winning hockey games, which is the ultimate goal,” he said. “But right now, we're not good enough to win in February and March and certainly not April and May. So if we want to do that, we ought to be still pushing the boundaries and trying to get better each day.”

FOURTH LINE’S A CHARM

For centre James Hamblin, his experience so far in the NHL has been a delicate balance of recognizing that he’s playing for his hometown team and being a professional player for an Oilers squad that’s well into its Stanley Cup window.

But both thought processes are fuelling the Edmonton product’s rise as part of an effective fourth line, which has scored some important goals for the Blue & Orange over their eight-game win streak.

“I think you have to find a bit of a mixture, right? The mixture between celebration and what's next,” said Hamblin, who has two goals and one assist in 16 games this season.

“I'm celebrating being here. I'm excited. It's a privilege to be able to play with Gags and DR every day. But at the same time, I'm always focused on the next game and focused on how I can be my best self.”

The fourth line of Sam Gagner, James Hamblin and Derek Ryan has gotten on the board in four of Edmonton’s eight consecutive victories, including the game-winning goal on Tuesday night against the Blackhawks.

The trio scored the opening goal in a 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday and a 5-4 shootout victory over the Vegas Golden Knights back on Nov. 28, while also scoring through Hamblin’s second career NHL goal in a blowout 8-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks two days earlier.

“I think for one, we've been able to build some chemistry over the last few games and I think we've been building for a while now,” Hamblin said. “We've been getting the results a little bit lately, but we've been building for a while and I think that's just results of chemistry and really just keeping it simple.”

The three Oilers forwards are making the most of their 10-to-11 minutes a night, and the professionalism of both Ryan and Gagner has helped Hamblin become more effective and prepared by giving 110 percent when their line is called upon.

“It's just a next-shift mentality for myself,” he said. “When I get out there, I'm going to be ready. If it does mean sitting for a bit, that just means I'm more fresh for my shift. That's kind of the mindset. I'm looking at it like that and I got two great guys beside me that’ve been helping me out and it's been great to learn.”

But still, Hamblin still finds it surreal to share the ice with Gagner – one of his Oilers idols since the former first-round pick broke into the league as an 18-year-old in 2007 when he was wight years old.

“Like I said, it's been unbelievable to just learn from him,” Hamblin said. “I still remember I was at the game when he got eight points. He was definitely one of my favorites. I love the backhand toe drag, so it's really cool. That's great. But like I said, he's just been really great to play with and learn from.”

Coach Knoblauch added by saying that veterans of Gagner’s ability and personal demeanour are critical in NHL locker rooms not only for rookies like Hamblin, but the entire group.

“I think he's very good for our team. I think we've had some very quality leaders on our team and he's one of them,” Knoblauch said. “Maybe his role is not as significant as some of the other guys, but his play this year has been pretty significant. He's chipped in offensively, but I think he's also helped those young guys a lot on how to conduct themselves, what they need to do extra, and also, those young guys just need an ear; somebody to listen to and give them some advice. 

“Often those young guys feel a lot of pressure, the anxiety of just the day to day stress, but I think Sam helps that out with those young guys getting them familiar and comfortable with their surroundings.”

VIDEO

• RAW | Leon Draisaitl
• RAW | James Hamblin
• RAW | Coach Kris Knoblauch
• Access Insurance Goal of the Game
• OILERS TODAY | Post-Game vs. CHI
• ANALYSIS | Post-Game vs. CHI
• HIGHLIGHTS | EDM 4, CHI 1

WRITTEN

• BRAR'S BOOK: The Mental Game
• Q&A: Edmonton Oilers CEO Jeff Jackson
• GAME RECAP: Oilers 4, Blackhawks 1
• BLOG: McDavid impressed by Bedard's ability
• RELEASE: Skills Competition to be held January 4