Oilers show signs of life and need their captain to follow

There's no team that had more hype and excitement surrounding it ahead of the 2017-18 regular season than the Edmonton Oilers. After a dominant regular-season campaign last year and an impressive showing in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs, it was all but assumed that coach Todd McLellan's young team was growing into a massive threat. Then, the Oilers did the exact opposite — starting the season with one of the most disappointing showings across the league.

Now, as we inch closer to the holiday weekend, Edmonton appears to be getting its act together. The Oilers have won seven of their last 11 tilts, narrowly holding off the Minnesota Wild and San Jose Sharks in their last two bouts. It's no 10-game winning streak or anything, but there are things you have to like about how Edmonton has played recently.

Is it foolish to say this is the point in the season when the Oilers completely turn things around and make a playoff push? Of course it is. They're seventh in the Pacific Division standings, and there's plenty of hockey left.

However, can an argument be made that Edmonton his heading in the right direction? Absolutely.

As David Staples of the Edmonton Journal recently pointed out, the Oilers have finally started to hustle and try to outwork the competition. Hard skating has helped them out-chance their opponents in most of those cases. It also doesn't hurt that their top three offensive lines are finally clicking, with veterans like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl finally making a dent in the last five games. In fact, Draisaitl has arguably been better since his line with Connor McDavid was split up.

Those aren't the only players stepping up of late either. Patrick Maroon is on an upswing after his two-point game against San Jose — though his biggest highlight may have been pulling on Brent Burns's beard. Even the defense has tightened up the screws, no doubt a reaction to losing starting netminder Cam Talbot for a spell. Darnell Nurse and Kris Russell are going to be taxed with keeping that a standard, especially since Oscar Klefbom just hit injured reserve with an upper-body injury.

Of course, what this team needs to really push it over the edge is for the captain to get things going. McDavid hasn't been his ridiculously god-like self so far this campaign, and his defensive play has gotten worse as we approach the new year. As great as it is that the rest of the team is contributing, McDavid hasn't been able to get much going. That's hugely concerning for last season's Art Ross recipient for leading the NHL in points.

This team is built around McDavid, and it desperately needs its captain to step his game up. There's no better — or perhaps more important — time than the present, with Edmonton taking on some extremely dangerous foes.

The Oilers' next stretch of games includes heavy competition against the St. Louis Blues and the dominant Los Angeles Kings just after the new year. The team as a whole will have to keep up this trend of out-skating its opponents, especially against sneakier squads like the Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars, both of which are on the upcoming schedule.

That includes McDavid, who must take a cue from his teammates' play of late and take his game to another level.