Don’t Stop Believin’: How resilience became the identity of the Edmonton Oilers

If you have read some of my posts throughout the season, there are two topics in my articles that I likely discussed more than once. One is about the impact of Vasily Podkolzin, who has continued to be one of the unsung heroes of these playoffs. The other, and the one I will talk about here, is the Edmonton Oilers’ identity.

Heading into the season, Leon Draisaitl said: “We’re not the same team as last year. There’s a lot of the same pieces, but every team creates its own identity, its own look, and its own way of approaching and playing the game.” After an 82-game season and their sixth straight comeback playoff win these playoffs, the Oilers have made something abundantly clear: resilience is their identity. How did they get there? Let’s explore below.

It started with a rude awakening for the team

Slow starts to the season are no surprise for the Oilers and have really become something we have come to expect of them. Whether it is a modest 2–3–0 record in the first five games of the 2022–23 campaign or a 2–9–1 start a season later (which led to the firing of then Oilers Head Coach Jay Woodcroft), the Oilers are not known for being hot out of the gate.

Through the first seven games of the 2024–25 season, the Oilers stumbled to a 2–4–1 record including losing their first three games by a combined score of 15–3. This slowed start seemed to kick Edmonton into gear. The Oilers would go on to turn their campaign fortunes around, including a phenomenal month of January with a 10–3–1 record, to finish with a respectable 48–29–5 record this season.

Were it not for their relative cooling off in the latter part of the season, the Oilers seemed destined to capture the Pacific Division crown, which would have been their first division victory since 1986–87 season. Most importantly however, the Oilers inseason, big picture trend proved that you should never count them out when it comes to the fight for a playoff spot.

In-game resilience

Big picture view of the Oilers season makes it clear to see that this team was able to turn their fortunes around. However, a more in-game focused view illustrates how the Oilers truly learned to win their games from behind.

During their phenomenal month of January, the Oilers had some memorable performances that have undoubtedly shaped their confidence and given them resilience. First, the Oilers would play Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. Coming off 2–0 and 3–1 deficits, the Oilers would refuse to throw in the towel and would eventually come back to a 4–3 win. Playing the Minnesota Wild several days later, the Oilers would go on to overcome 2–0 and 3–2 deficits on their way to a 5–3 victory over a dangerous, playoff bound opponent.

The following night, the Oilers would face Nathan Mackinnon and the Colorado Avalanche. The Oilers would find themselves down 3–0 before bouncing back to a 4–3 victory over the recent Stanley Cup winners.

It may be easy to conclude that an important fact learned through these games is that the Oilers’ opponents should never count them out. More importantly, however, the Oilers themselves learned to always bet on themselves, even if the odds look dire. This is something that the Oilers have undoubtedly realized this playoff season.

Playoff perseverance

Heading into the tonight’s Game 3 against the Vegas Golden Knights, the Oilers are coming off a record sixth straight comeback win in the playoffs. However, even their first two games against the Los Angeles Kings featured comeback attempts that simply fell short. Game 1 became a high scoring 6–5 fest which feature the Oilers making a comeback all the way from being down 5–2, before a Phillip Danault knuckle puck beat Stuart Skinner. Game 2 featured a third-period comeback attempt (of sorts) when Viktor Arvidsson got a third period goal to bring the score to within one goal.

Game 3 onwards featured a team that was now prepared to play from behind. Whether it was the Evander Kane and Evan Bouchard game tying and game winning goals, respectively, or the Evan Bouchard last minute game-tying dagger in Game 4, the Oilers made one thing clear: this team is comfortable with the chips stacked against them. As long as they are still breathing, Connor McDavid and co. should never be counted out.

This of course, proves exactly what Leon Draisaitl was hoping for heading into the season: development of an identity. The resilience and perseverance of this team to fight to the end has given the Oilers and its’ fanbase hope that even in the final seconds of the game, anything is possible for the good guys from Edmonton.