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Oilers scheduling disadvantage may cause another issue early next season


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Liam McCormick
August 6, 2025  (5:14 PM)
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Oilers celebrating a goal
Photo credit: USA Today Sports

The Edmonton Oilers are become known across the NHL for routinely starting their seasons poorly, and it will be a problem to look out for again this season.

Information was revealed yesterday that the Oilers will travel the farthest distance out of any NHL team by quite a large margin. After two seasons with extended playoff runs, more travel could lead to some fatigue for the Oilers.

Edmonton Oilers may be headed for another slow start to the season

The last two seasons the Oilers have been very underwhelming out of the gate, and its had significant consequences later on.
Analysts at the Hockey Writers pointed to the horrific opening records in the last two seasons, one of which led to the firing of Coach Jay Woodcroft.
They have gotten off to brutal starts in back-to-back campaigns, which must be avoided in the 2025-26 season.

In 2023-24, they had an abysmal 3-9-1 record to start, leading to the eventual firing of head coach Jay Woodcroft. Then they started 2-4-1 last season, including losing their first three home games. By Nov. 7, they were 6-7-1 and were drastically underperforming.

- The Hockey Writers

Both years the Oilers were obviously able to climb out of the early-season hole, but it still kept them down in the standings. Had they had better starts, the Oilers could've had home ice advantage in some key playoff matchups.
Unfortunately for the Oilers, their schedule to start this season may be their toughest in recent years. They'll play 17 of their first 26 games on the road, including a 5 game road trip beginning in the 3rd game of the year.
They'll have to be on their game right away, and be ready to play without the advantage of Oil Country - it'll be a challenge for the team right out of the gate.
Hopefully this year the Oilers can finally find a way to avoid the slow start, and instead build a good foundation in the standings to secure home ice advantage through the playoffs.
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Oilers scheduling disadvantage may cause another issue early next season

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