As the Edmonton Oilers closed out a draining seven-game road trip, there’s a sense around the league and inside their own walls that the team has arrived at its first true pressure point of the 2025–26 season. The trip ended in South Florida, the very building where their last two Stanley Cup runs died and this weekend’s matchup against the Florida Panthers was a statement onr.

On 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman laid out a sharper-than-usual diagnosis of what’s gone wrong and why this particular Saturday feels like far more than just Game 24.

Friedman heaps unexpected praise on Darnell Nurse

During the conversation Friedman recalled how the Oilers “looked terrible against Buffalo on Monday,” then lost an “ugly” game in Washington where “they could have gotten a save or two.”

One of the few bright spots Friedman singled out was the play and presence of Darnell Nurse.

“I think a guy who’s really stepped up for them over the last couple of games was Nurse… I’ve seen Nurse the last couple nights as a guy who’s really trying to drag them into the fight.”

Nurse scored twice in Washington, then stepped into a fight with massive Washington Capitals Forward Alex Douglass after a heavy hit—a confrontation no one else on the roster was physically built for. Friedman said that moments like that matter to teammates; they also matter when a team is vulnerable and unsure of itself.

Oilers were “not happy” with Panthers’ Stanley Cup celebrations

Saturday’s matchup carried extra emotional weight and not only because Edmonton’s last two seasons ended there.

Friedman noted bluntly that “the Oilers as an organization were not happy with some of the post-celebration commentary from the Panthers.”

Florida “really rubbed that second one in,” he said, and though stars like Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov won’t be in the lineup, the memories remain.

This is why Friedman believes Saturday could be the kind of moment teams look back on months later:

“If we look back six months from now and this is the one that turned Edmonton’s season around… I think a lot of people will look at it and say, okay, we can deal with this.”

For weeks the Oilers could lean on the idea of a Cup hangover, new systems, early season rust or simply bad luck. Friedman made it clear those excuses have expired:

“There’s a point where that’s no longer an excuse. And I think we’ve reached that.”

He added an important layer: the owner’s expectations.

“I think the owner is a guy who puts a lot of pressure on the people he works with. And everyone’s feeling it now.”

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Oilers’ brutal road trip could be a boon in disguise

One notable point from Friedman is that Edmonton has already played 15 road games, the most in the West. Calgary is at 13, Los Angeles at 14.

In a compressed Olympic year, he said multiple people around the league see the Oilers’ front-loaded travel as something that could help them later:

“Maybe they get some of the worst parts of their schedule out of the way and figure themselves out.”

It won’t help them now, but it may mean a calmer, more home-friendly second half.

Friedman singles out goaltending as the centre point of pressure

When asked where the Oilers are feeling the post pressure at the moment, Friedman pointed to the obvious.

“I definitely think the goaltending is under the spotlight,” he said.

He pointed directly to the number that hangs over everything. Edmonton has only four regulation wins which is the fewest in the league. They simply haven’t been able to control games or protect leads and while the defending in front of them hasn’t been “1977-Canadiens caliber,” the Oilers still need saves.

The scrutiny has intensified around Stuart Skinner including widespread mocking of his preseason goal of playing for Team Canada. Friedman defended him explaining that Skinner is “a guy who relies on sports psychologists and mental coaches” and that his confidence-building language was misunderstood.

“If he’s struggling between his ears, he’s got no chance,” Friedman said comparing the mental approach to how golfer Mike Weir learned to avoid self-blame to stay functional under pressure.

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