If the Edmonton Oilers needed any added motivation, more than what comes from the prospect of their season slipping away, they got it in coming face-to-face with the team that sent them home in tears after the last two Stanley Cup Finals.

There is nothing they can do to repair the emotional damage after what the Florida Panthers did to them in each of the last two springs, but all that matters right now is getting their season on track and they took a nice step in that direction Saturday night.

Up 4-3 after 40 minutes, the Oilers drew a third-period line in the sand, scored two empty-netters, and closed out their seven-game road trip with a spirited 6-3 decision.

And so, despite all the fear and loathing after some gnarly showings during their up-and-down 12-day journey, the Oilers finish 3-3-1 on the trip, a record they would have gladly taken before it started.

“We should be pleased,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch. “There were some games that got away from us, but to say going in that we were going to be .500 on this road trip, that’s OK. How some of those games slipped away was a little bitter for us, but overall I like how our guys are going.”

The trek through Philadelphia, Columbus, Carolina, Buffalo, Washington, Tampa Bay and Florida was a battle from the start — three overtime games, a one-goal game and two games that weren’t sealed until the empty-netters slid across the line.

To come out of grind like that with a .500 record isn’t bad for a team that is looking to rediscover itself.

“It was long, it was gruelling, but I thought our effort in the last two games was our best,” said Knoblauch. “It’s not easy coming here to Tampa Bay and Florida, but our guys were really focused and did the little things that we needed to do.”

As if to put a ribbon on the effort, Edmonton jumped from 12th place in the Western Conference when the evening started to eighth when the horn sounded.

So, yeah, the six-hour flight back to Edmonton is going to be a little easier to handle than if they’d let this one slip away. The difference between 2-4-1 and 3-3-1 seemed monumental as the third period played out Saturday.

“It’s average in some ways, but the length of the trip, the strength of schedule, it’s good to come over to the east and do what we did,” said Jack Roslovic, who scored twice in the first eight minutes to get Edmonton rolling. “This was a good momentum builder.”

This was, of course, a gutted Panthers team (playing without eight regulars including Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Aaron Ekblad, Eetu Luostarinen and Dmitry Kulikov) but the Oilers aren’t about to hand out any sympathy cards. Not when they’ve only played two home games since Nov. 3.

“That takes a lot of guts by our team,” said goaltender Stuart Skinner, who snapped a personal two-game losing streak with a strong night. “It was a really long road trip, a lot of travel. Some really tough teams. That fact we were able to get a win and be .500, this win was huge for us.”

DOUBLE JACK

Roslovic wanted to make amends after his goalmouth gaffe cost Edmonton an overtime win Thursday in Tampa and he got right to it in Florida, scoring at 25 seconds and 7:06 of the first period.

He’s been a scoring machine since he settled in — nine goals and seven assists in the last 15 games — and is a big part of the reason the Oilers might see some light at the end of the tunnel.

General manager Stan Bowman desperately needed a win with some of his bigger off-season moves (Andrew Mangiapane, David Tomasek and the eight-year deal for Trent Frederic) currently flopping, and Roslovic is giving him one.

GOALTENDING LIFE

It’s also back-to-back games where Edmonton’s goaltending was ahead of the curve. Calvin Pickard allowed just two goals in 31 shots in Tampa Bay (14-4 in the third period) and Skinner stopped 35 of 38 in Florida.

“They had some chances and we needed some saves,” said Knoblauch. “We needed him and he rose to the occasion.”

HOW ABOUT THAT DEFENCE

Evan Bouchard laid the groundwork for the win, making an elite play at the blue line to keep the puck in on Edmonton’s first goal and then an elite pass to set up Roslovic for his second.

When all was said and done he finished with three assists and was plus five. Mattias Ekholm had a goal and an assist and also finished plus five.

ROOKIE SLUGGER

Saturday marked the NHL debut of 20-year-old winger Connor Clattenburg, who got the call after posting five fights in his first 15 games in the AHL.

It was a quiet debut, just 5:47 of ice time and nothing much in the third period of a one-goal game, but he’s on Edmonton’s radar.

“He’s brought a lot to his game that helped his team down there and we want that same enthusiasm, excitement and physicality,” said Knoblauch. “We need that energy.”

E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com