The Oilers' six-game point streak followed them losing seven in a row (0-5-2) and 13 of 15 (2-11-2) from Dec. 3-Jan. 20, which caused them to fall from first in the NHL in points percentage (.762, 16-5-0) to sixth in the Pacific Division (.528).
"Every team goes through that," forward Leon Draisaitl said. "Obviously, I think ours maybe held on a little too long, but that's something where you can grow from and get better as a team, and when you do come out of it, it obviously it makes you a stronger team mentally and makes you a better team."
Edmonton will return from the All-Star break with three home games in four days: against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday and the New York Islanders on Friday.
In the window that was previously reserved for the Olympic break (Feb. 7-22), the Oilers will play eight games that were postponed because of concerns relating to cross-border travel and attendance restrictions in Canada cities.
"The [All-Star] break for us came at an inopportune time, I would say, just with guys starting to feel good, guys finding ways to win games," McDavid said. "We want to keep playing. The break came at a bad time, but we'll pick up where we left off."
McDavid said he's still learning how to deal with the highs and lows of a season.
"It's not easy, not easy for sure," the Oilers captain said. "We've kind of felt the extremes of that. We've had great stretches this year and we've had really bad stretches this year."
That includes goalie Mikko Koskinen, who McDavid said is the key to the Oilers.
"He takes a lot of heat," McDavid said. "Truthfully, we kind of go as he goes."
Koskinen was 4-0-1 with a 2.49 goals-against average and .920 save percentage in Edmonton's six-game point streak prior to the break. During their rough stretch, he was 0-6-1 with a 4.28 GAA and an .855 save percentage.
"It wasn't an easy time for all of us, but I think especially him, it was really hard on him," Draisaitl said. "People were hard on him, and he knows that. So for him to come back and put in five really, really good performances, it's fun to watch and he's been great for us."
Draisaitl said the same thing about forward Evander Kane, who has scored three points (two goals, one assist) in three games since signing with the Oilers on Jan. 28.
"He's a little behind in terms of having games played, but he seems to get better every game, and that's all you can really ask for," Draisaitl said. "He's been productive. It's been good."
McDavid agreed.
"The guys have welcomed him," he said. "He's a guy that has played well, and he's only going to get better as his timing comes back."
NHL.com staff writer Tom Gulitti contributed to this story
