Resurgent Oilers make most of practice time

The Edmonton Oilers are looking for a third straight win against the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday night.

About that practice time.

Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch repeated what he’s been saying over the last week and a half, ever since most of the stench of his team’s one-sided loss two weeks ago to the Dallas Stars was washed away following their shutout win four days later in Seattle, that getting his players “confronted under pressure” in rehearsal has been of benefit.

In between those two games has been that precious time to practice, something that the Oilers hadn’t been afforded much of over the first 25 games or so of this season’s National Hockey League schedule.

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Now that they’ve had a few sessions of practice – not to be confused with game day morning skates – since that Nov. 25 black eye of an 8-3 loss at home to Dallas, Knoblauch credits at least some of his team’s turnaround to his players being able to work on feeling the heat while moving more pucks in a controlled environment.

“As much as I’d like to think my practices are great and they’re going to turn teams around, I think it’s just more of the fact that the guys are on the ice, moving pucks and getting confronted under pressure,” Knoblauch told reporters after practice on Monday, a day before they host the Buffalo Sabres for the fourth of a five-game homestand.

“We’ve had some morning skates, and morning skates are completely different than practices where they’re touching the puck, but there’s no pressure whatsoever. In practices, they’re under pressure (and) they’re forced to make plays.”

And whatever it is that’s led to the Oilers winning three of their last four games in commanding fashion – with the lone loss a 1-0 chess match with the high-flying Minnesota Wild – star captain Connor McDavid says confidence “is a real thing.”

“When you don’t have it, the game gets pretty tough,” McDavid said after practice. “Guys as individuals are starting to play a little bit better, starting to see some results and feeling good about themselves.”

And that’s translated to goals, an average of better than six in their most recent three wins.

Knoblauch credits that to the Oilers “moving the puck a lot better, transitioning up the ice and executing our passes.”

“That has a lot to do with it, but also the mentality of attacking the middle of the ice more, and not playing so much on the perimeter,” he said, echoed by McDavid.

“We’re generating a couple more chances, getting inside, getting to the net, attacking more,” McDavid said. “I definitely liked the offensive side better.”

Philp expected back soon

Knoblauch said forward Noah Philp, who took part in his first contact practice Monday since getting hurt Nov. 17 in a road loss to the Sabres, should be ready to return to action by the end of the week “at the earliest.”

Philp is one of four Oilers regulars currently out of the lineup due to injury. Knoblauch said he expects defenceman Jake Walman to be out of action at least this week and probably next while anticipating forwards Jack Roslovic and Kasperi Kapanen to be back “around Christmastime.”