Oh, the Edmonton Oilers have their backs right up against the proverbial wall, you say?

No problem. That just means they have the rest of the NHL right where they want them. (Minus the Florida Panthers, of course).

For the past two years, the second-best team in the league has made a habit out of putting themselves in an unenviable position before suddenly remembering just who the heck they are and re-establishing themselves as an elite team led by two of the best in the game.

It happened following a 2-9-1 start that led to a coaching change two years ago, before going on runs of eight- and 16-straight wins on the way to appearing in the Stanley Cup Final.

It happened after fumbling around the .500 mark through the first month of last season, before going on a tear and 22-6-2 from late November to the end of January to finish just behind the Los Angeles Kings in the Pacific Division.

But that didn’t stop them from falling behind 2-0 to those same Kings in the opening round of playoffs, looking like they were about to make an early exit before turning it on and earning a rematch against the defending champion Panthers in the final.

It’s almost as if before they can become the best version of themselves, they have to get a bunch of the bad stuff out of the way first.

Like when Bruce Banner needs to get pushed around enough before turning green and becoming incredible.

What do they have to say?

They’ve been through it all before. The ups and the downs, which in Edmonton means the sky is falling whenever Connor McDavid doesn’t put the puck in the net for nine of the first 10 games on the schedule.

They know exactly what they need to do to get where they need to go and give themselves another shot at the ultimate prize waiting at the finish line. but every year, it’s as if they have been shot by the starter’s pistol.

“Or maybe everybody needs to take a deep breath every once in a while,” said veteran defenceman Mattias Ekholm, who came up with his first goal of the season in a dominant come-from-behind 6-3 win over the first-place Utah Mammoth on Tuesday.

And he wasn’t referring to everybody in the Oilers dressing room. In there, we’re told, the belief never fades.

“If you look back at it, since I’ve been here this has been the best start we’ve ever had,” Ekholm said of being 5-4-1 heading into the final game of October. “In that sense, great.

“Obviously, we want to start better. I don’t know that recipe, I guess, because I’ve been here three years and none has worked. As long as we get into the playoffs, I am happy. But obviously, yes, we want to have a better start.”

So, maybe we should get it straight from the horse’s mouth in terms of players who have been around a little longer and can compare the then to the now.

“In certain situations, we need a kick in the butt,” said Oilers elder statesman Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has been with the team since they drafted him first overall in 2011. “But the way that we can respond is a great sign and is something we’ve excelled at the past few years.”

OK, OK. So, the ends might justify the means, in this case. But it doesn’t make it any less cringeworthy to have to sit through the early tire spinning.

That was the rest, what about what the best has to say?

As for McDavid, who scored two late goals against the Mammoth, including an empty-netter, to double his production in that department over the first 10 games, he says it’s about time they showed their fans some “good hockey”.

“It’s been a little bit since we’d seen some of that,” McDavid said. “I think you just saw a little bit of the urgency and that desperation kind of go up. So, hopefully that can stick around.

“Whatever recipe we had the first 10 (games) wasn’t working and we’ve got to find something else. And that, for us, is just being a little bit simpler.”

G-MAN’S TAKE: Considering no one has scored more points than him since entering the league, you can’t really argue with McDavid Logic. Ever.

Nor can anyone convince me this is a .500 team. They will be back. And with a vengeance. Maybe not all the way back to a third straight Cup Final. But once the new pieces fall into place, they will certainly start looking more like the Oilers of two years past (and not the Oilers of 10 years past).

And if awkward, clunky starts to regular seasons or post-seasons are the price to pay, then the Oilers will gladly sign a blank cheque. It’s not the early part of the season they’re focused on, after all.

E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge

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