Edmonton Oilers fans are going to need to adjust their clocks in more ways than one.
With Alberta officially moving away from daylight saving time over the weekend and settling into what will now be called “Alberta Time” - abbreviated “ABT” - the province has shifted its relationship with the rest of the hockey map. Alberta is now one hour behind Ontario instead of two, while still staying an hour ahead of the Canadian West Coast because B.C. also declined to turn its clocks back.
That change matters most when the Oilers head south and west. Teams in Washington, California, and Nevada used to be just an hour behind Alberta. Now they’ll be two hours back, and that means later nights for anyone planning to watch Edmonton.
The first big example comes on Nov. 7, when the Oilers face the Vancouver Canucks in the season’s first 9 p.m. ABT puck drop.
In all, seven Edmonton games will be pushed to that later start time. One of the biggest stretches comes in January, when the Oilers hit the road and play three straight games at 9 p.m.
ABT while moving through California and Nevada.
The time change has also wiped out most of the old weeknight early starts. Games that once would have begun at 5 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. on the road against Eastern Conference teams will now usually land at 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m.
ABT instead. Weekend matinees are still on the schedule, though, so there will still be some earlier faceoffs mixed in.
For home games, though, the routine mostly stays intact. Aside from two later starts and a few weekend matinees, Rogers Place will continue to look familiar on the clock. The Oilers have long settled into 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. starts at home, and that pattern will largely hold.
Of Edmonton’s remaining 34 home games, 22 are set for between 7 and 8 p.m. ABT. For fans, that means the biggest adjustment won’t be at home - it’ll be when the Oilers leave Alberta and the puck drops keep creeping later.
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