BLOG: Oilers staying focused on the process and the present

EDMONTON, AB – Keep your attention on what’s in front of you, but not too far ahead.

Over the course of Training Camp and preseason, the Edmonton Oilers have kept their focus on improving the small details of their game that can have the biggest impact on the club having a fast start to the 2023-24 NHL campaign – without looking beyond the first handful of regular-season games.

“I think we're in a good spot. We've handled everything that's been thrown our way here at Camp and feel like our game's starting to show things that we want to see out of it,” captain Connor McDavid said before Wednesday’s exhibition match against the Calgary Flames.

“We want to get off to a good start. We want to have a good last couple of games here in preseason. That's our focus in terms of how important it is.”

Edmonton’s areas for improvement over the past two or three years have been well documented, with the over-arching goal inside the Oilers locker room this season being centred around keeping pucks out of their own net through a renewed approach toward checking in all areas of the ice and making tweaks to the club’s the neutral-zone forecheck and zonal defending within their own end.

Over the last two seasons, the Oilers have benefitted from respective 9-1 and 7-3 starts to the ‘21-22 and ‘22-23 campaigns.

“You want to see the system being played,” McDavid added. “You want to see guys dialling into the details – the little parts of the game that summer habits can affect like stopping on pucks, being in battles and being in shot lanes and stuff like that – all the things that it takes to be successful over the course of an 82-game season.”

For the Blue & Orange, finishing off their exhibition schedule strongly while operating with the right mindset and execution in their details is at the forefront of their approach toward building momentum in the final two games of the preseason.

“I think it does, and it doesn't necessarily mean it's wins and losses in the preseason,” McDavid said. “I think it's more [about] how the game looks from a system standpoint and guys being dialled into the details that it takes to win.

“I think we've seen that over the course of our exhibition season, and we'll continue to look for that in the last two here.”

While the Oilers certainly aspire to win their first division title since winning six straight between 1981-87, the picture for the players and coaches remains small and focused on building towards Game 1 of 82, which will go down on the road at Rogers Arena on Oct. 11 against the Vancouver Canucks.

“Every team wants to set themselves up as best as possible heading into the playoffs, and that includes home ice. Obviously, if you win your division or you win your conference, you get home ice throughout the playoffs,” McDavid said.

“That always helps, but our focus is the next couple of games here and getting ourselves ready for an important start to our season.

“I've said it all throughout Camp – it's a long way away from even being in a playoff series, so there are so many things that have to happen. No season looks the same, no team is the same from year to year, and we have to continue to build our identity as a group and our game as a whole and that's our focus. That's it. That's not for us to decide.”

Head Coach Jay Woodcroft mentioned that he’d like to have a full dress rehearsal in the final pre-season game for the 21 players who’ll be playing one week from today in the club’s season opener. But with injuries and a number of key roster spots up for grabs, there are factors at play that could prevent that from happening.

“I think perfect-world scenario, you want to find a full dress rehearsal, but we don't live in a perfect world and sometimes, there are nicks, bumps and bruises and whatnot, and you got to play the hand that you're dealt with,” the coach said.

“I think it’s an important game for a lot of people here tonight. We're getting to the point where exhibition games are really running out here, so the opportunity to make a continued impression for some is running out. So, you’ve got to make good on it. 

“I think that's a good thing. Usually in those types of situations, you see people's best and that's what we're going to need tonight.”