One reason revealed for the Oilers slow start to regular season

Getting off to a slow start has become a trend for these Edmonton Oilers over the last three seasons, and this year looks to be the same. The amount of games they're playing may be catching up to some players.

Some Oilers fans are pointing to the incredible amount of hockey this team has actually played in recent seasons.

In the last 3 years, only the Florida Panthers have played more total games than the Edmonton Oilers.

The top three teams of games played over the last three years are the Panthers, Oilers, and Dallas Stars - and all three teams have been below expectations so far.

Not only have the Oilers played more hockey than most teams in recent years, they've sustained some tough injuries along the way. Walman missed significant time, Mattias Ekholm is aging and had injury trouble, Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman both suffered tough hand injuries.

On top of these injuries and fatigue, the Oilers did have an illness go through their locker room in the first games of the season as well. Combining all these factors, and a sluggish start is understandable.

Some of the Oilers veterans need to start dialling up their game to mid-season form, and start leading Edmonton's offence to some wins.

Things should start to click soon for this team, which has the talent to get back to their third straight Cup Final appearance. It's only a matter of time before it turns around.