GENE'S BLOG: Finishing Strong

Sunday was a CBA-mandated day off for the Edmonton Oilers -- a free day to do whatever, and maybe more importantly to do nothing. At the end of a long season and before their final two regular season games, a day to cleanse the body physically and mentally sounded like the necessary remedy.
For those with children, there may have been a little FaceTime with family as the kids went on an Easter egg hunt. A day game for the Colorado Rockies provided an opportunity to grab some sun and sports that didn't involve them. I'm sure others hunkered or bunkered down to catch the last round of the Masters. Right now, the Oilers are the masters of their own domain.
The way Edmonton is playing right now is as good as they ever have this late in a season, right before the start of the playoffs. First off, they have won seven games in a row. That is their longest winning streak of the season, and if you take it back even further, they are an eye-popping 12-0-1 in their last 13.
The only blemish is an overtime loss to Vegas back on March 25. Speaking of Vegas, they are still holding on to the Pacific Division lead by two points, with each team having two games left.

The Oilers continue to chase first, not only in the division, but in the conference. Vegas is still number one in the West, with Edmonton trailing for potential home-ice advantage throughout the first three playoff rounds. I should also mention Edmonton is seventh overall in the NHL -- the numbers and results are staggering.
That leads into some numbers and results that are staggering, those of Connor McDavid. In his rookie season at Rexall Place, after one of his brilliant goals, the legendary play-by-play man Bob Cole stated, "Connor McDavid… remember that name." It was a great call and a sentence that rings more and more true every season.
Now we all remember McDavid's name, and hockey fans from everywhere will continue to do so after another performance that solidified his spot in hockey history. Saturday afternoon in San Jose, it was Connor playing the role of a shark around the other team's net. McDavid's three-point performance allowed him to reach, and surpass, the 150-point plateau on the season. He joins only five other NHLers in the history of the game to have had this productive a regular season.
Sportsnet commentators Jack Michaels and Louie DeBrusk aptly described the enormity of what Connor had just accomplished, saying, "Wayne, Mario, Stevie, Phil and Bernie, move over and make some room for the captain of the Edmonton Oilers." McDavid is a legend in the making, with all five of those previous legends passing on congratulations via a post-game video message. It was a really cool moment for both Connor and his teammates.

Speaking of his teammates, they haven't exactly disappointed themselves or Oil Country this year either. Leon Draisaitl is having a monster season. He is second in the NHL in scoring, notching another 50-goal season, and still has a chance at scoring the most power-play goals ever in one year.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins hit 100 points, and absolutely crushed his previous career highs. Zach Hyman has blasted by his best season ever, and with a career-high 36 goals this year, he has a chance to hit 40 goals in the Oilers final two games -- as does the aforementioned Nugent-Hopkins who sits at 37 tallies.
On defence, Darnell Nurse surpassed his career-best season in points with 43, while Mattias Ekholm's plus-six performance on Saturday was tied for the second best in NHL history. Rookie goaltender Stuart Skinner is also on the verge of being a Calder Trophy finalist for rookie of the year.
All the statistics mentioned are nice and will mean more in the future than they do now, but the Oilers aren't focused on pumping out statistics. They have been downright stingy lately, with just three goals allowed in their last five. Folks, that's what wins you playoff games and playoff series.
Jay Woodcroft, who should get Jack Adams Trophy votes for coach of the year, says all the time, "our focus is to get better every day." Hard to believe the Oilers can get much better, but they'll have to, and they know and understand that.
Their next chance to do so is this Tuesday in Colorado against the defending Cup champion Avalanche in what could be a late-season preview of a playoff series still to come.