Is the NHL giving special treatment to the Oilers, who are the 2x defending Western Conference champions, in their schedule release today as noticed by analyst Jason Gregor?
The Edmonton Oilers are going to hope that they manage to avoid the slow starts to the year that has plagued them in each of their last two seasons despite eventually advancing to the Stanley Cup Final both times.
The Oilers will be getting their Eastern Conference matchups in Eastern Time Zones out of the way early, something that hasn't occurred in recent memory.
This was noticed by analyst Jason Gregor, who notes that the Oilers won't play in any Eastern Time zones after December 18.
Can't recall this happening before, but the Oilers final RS game in Eastern time zone will be December 18th.
Oct 14-21 @ NYR, NYI, NJ, DET & OTT.
Nov 12-22 @ PHI, CBJ, CAR, BUF, WSH, TB & FLA.
Dec 13-18 @ TOR, MTL, PIT & BOS.
They play 21 of their first 35 games on road.
So far, the Oilers have already undergone multiple changes to their lineup for the upcoming year, mostly in subtractions.
Corey Perry signed with the divisional foe Los Angeles Kings, and Jeff Skinner departed to sign with the San Jose Sharks, while Connor Brown is now with the New Jersey Devils.
Additionally, the Oilers traded Evander Kane to the Vancouver Canucks, while they traded Viktor Arvidsson to the Boston Bruins.
One major pickup the Oilers have is highly-touted prospect Isaac Howard, who was acquired in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier in the month.
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