Oilers better off settling for second or pushing pedal to the metal?

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This can work out one of two ways.

Either the Edmonton Oilers simply play out the string and save up as many resources as possible for what they hope will be a long and prosperous playoff push, or they go all out over these final 19 games of the regular season and try to overtake the Vancouver Canucks for first place in both the Pacific Division and the entire Western Conference.

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That might be a lot to ask, at this point, considering the Canucks (42-17-7) are enjoying a 12-point cushion with three other teams standing between them and the Oilers (38-21-3), who sit second in the Pacific.

At the same time, the Oilers might be better served focusing solely on improving upon a four-point lead on the Los Angeles Kings in third place, and accepting their lot in life here in the 2023-24 season schedule, while remaining as rested and healthy as possible for when games begin to matter most.

“I don’t think we’re talking about finishing first or second or third, but just winning as many games as possible,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. “There’s so many things out of our control. We don’t know what Vancouver’s going to do, we don’t know how they’re going to finish the season, how many wins they’re going to have, but we have a pretty good idea of how many games we can win.

“And if we win as many as we think we can, it gives us an opportunity that possibly that’s an opportunity for us. But I think right now, we’re focused on how we’re going to play better hockey, win more games and if things happen to fall then we have that opportunity, but I don’t think it’s something we’re talking about right now.”

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Either way, they’ve come a long way since a 2-9-1 start to the season that had them sitting 30th in a 32-team league.

And it was a 5-0 shutout over the Washington Capitals back on Nov. 24 that kicked off an eight-game win streak out of nowhere and got things pointed back in the right direction for an Oilers squad that had come into the season riding nothing but great expectations.

“If I was to point at a certain date on the calendar when things started to turn, I would say it was that game,” said captain Connor McDavid, whose Oilers will face the Capitals for the first time since on Wednesday (8 p.m., Sportsnet). “Just the feeling in the room, it was almost like, ‘What do we have to lose? Let’s just go play.’

“And put together a good one there and were able to string a few in a row and kind of get ourselves back in the mix. It was good.”

The Oilers are already poster boys for the notion it’s not how you start, but how you finish that counts. The only question is how much counting in the win column will they have done by the time the regular season winds to a close?

“I think, honestly for us, the shift has just been focusing on ourselves. I think at the beginning of the year there was lots of expectation and guys kind of got lost in that a little bit,” McDavid said. “And obviously you saw the start that we had. So for us, I think it’s just about the day to day. And it’s super-cliche and that type of thing, but for us, we’ve just got to stay day to day and focus on what we’ve got to do.

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“Play good hockey and that stuff will follow.”

In other words, their focus is firmly on the journey as opposed to the destination.

At this point, aside from potentially earning a little bit better home-ice advantage in the playoffs, there isn’t a lot more to be gained from the rest of the regular season for the Oilers.

Asked just how ready this team is to play in big games, and McDavid pointed directly to their past two playoff performances.

“It certainly helps that we’ve been there. We’ve experienced hockey at the highest level, obviously in the playoffs,” he said. “Playing the Avs a couple years ago, playing Vegas last year, we know what that type of game feels like. We’ve had success in beating two really good L.A. teams and beating Calgary, a really good team.

“So, we know what that feels like in the playoffs and I think those are all great experiences and things that we’ve learned from and are trying to put to good use.”

At the same time, the argument can be made the playoffs will arrive when they arrive, and in the meantime, the Oilers should be doing everything in their power to try and grab hold of every advantage possible, be it home-ice or playoff seeding.

“I think most of the time, you’re just focused on the day to day and kind of who you’re playing next, but of course being higher in the standings gives you home-ice advantage in the playoffs,” said Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “I don’t think the matchups (matter) once you get to the playoffs, everybody is competitive and the parity in the league is high.

“I think it’s good to have home ice. I think it’s something we can strive for and can just give us a little more motivation down the stretch here.”

E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge

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