Oilers considering benching star players down the stretch of season

As the NHL season winds down and teams continue to put themselves into a playoff spot, there's always been a notion that the teams that have been locked into the playoffs for some time should consider resting some of their players as they prepare for the postseason.

This idea was brought up recently during an Oilersnation podcast stating the idea of the Oilers resting some of their key players including Darnell nurse, Cody Ceci as the Oilers appear to be a lock for the playoffs and all that's remaining is sewing up home ice advantage. The question extends then, will the Oilers hold out McDavid and Draisaitl in the last few games of the season? If the conditions are right, the players agree, it's a road game, and no one is chasing milestones - other teams have been known to do this.


With the team coming out from the cellar of the NHL standings and now within striking distance of first in the Pacific as the Oilers hold a three-game in hand advantage against the Canucks an are only eight points behind. The Canucks have been cooling recently and could be passed by the Oilers within the next few weeks.


As rookie head coach Kris Knoblauch has enjoyed this dramatic turn around and with the team firing on all cylinders, I highly doubt the organization will rest their key players as in their last ten games they have a record of 7-1-2.

It remains to be seen on what the organization will do, but I have a feeling the team will continue to push as they would like to make a statement heading into the playoffs.