The Edmonton Oilers had Sunday off followed by Monday and Tuesday off before facing the Golden Knights at home on the 10th. That starts a 4 game homestand that sees the Oil play 4 games in 6 6 days. Then they have one day off before making a quick two game road trip to face the Coyotes and Avalanche back to back.
There are still a couple key things that this Oilers team is competing for in these final six games of the season. Let's take a look.
FIRST IN THE DIVISION
We've been talking about this one at length but it continues to look more and more feasible for the Oilers. Edmonton currently sits at 99 points, 3 points back of the Canucks for 1st in the Pacific Division and the Oilers also have a game in hand. Edmonton also plays the Canucks on Saturday in a game that very well could decide their final position.
The Canucks play 5 more games against the Golden Knights, Coyotes, Oilers, Flames, and Jets.
Edmonton plays 6 more games against the Golden Knights, Coyotes, Canucks, Sharks, Coyotes again, and the Avalanche. Both teams play 3 playoff team in this time.
Winning the division will likely mean facing the Predators in round 1. Nashville had a phenomenal run through March but they have started to slip again. While Saros is great and there are some strong pieces to this core (Josi, Forsberg, Nyqusit, O'Reilly) this would likely be the easiest matchup in the West. Finishing second would mean playing either a grueling series against the LA Kings or a matchup against the 2023 Stanley Cup Champions.
100 ASSISTS AND THE ART ROSS
McDavid is one assist away from being the first player since Gretzky to reach 100 assists in a season. That is going to happen, likely as soon as Wednesday. The Art Ross however is still up for grabs. Kucherov leads the league with 136 points while MacKinnon sits right behind with 133 followed by McDavid at 130. While players will say that individual accolades don't mean anything to them, you can bet McDavid's teammates would love to help him win that once again.
That being said, if the choices are between McDavid getting a game or two of rest to be at 100% or winning the Art Ross, the team should absolutely lean towards the former and not the latter.
If the Oilers matchup is locked in prior to the final two game road trip of the season, I would rest McDavid, Draisaitl, and any other players dealing with any ailments. It's a road trip so you aren't going to have to worry about not selling tickets which management would appreciate. As mentioned above though, if the Oilers are still fighting for top spot in the division in those final couple games than I doubt we see the top guys sit.
Take a deep breath everyone because from Wednesday and onwards it's gonna be a wild ride.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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