The fat lady has sung. It’s over. The other teams are increasing their gap on us too much for there really to be a chance. Not only does Edmonton have to outpace the 9th, 10th and 11th place teams now, but they of course have to outpace their original target, Detroit, by 7 points (possibly 6, if we somehow picked up the tie breaker… gaining 4 more regulation or overtime wins on Detroit in the process). This just isn’t going to happen in 8 games. That basically means that not only does Edmonton need to be perfect, but Detroit needs a monumental loss and needs to completely fall apart. Let’s also throw in the fact the Oilers have been struggling to win put a string of wins together all season (although they did win 5 in a row leading up to this 4 game losing streak). I do expect a win tonight for the Oilers, which will mislead some people into thinking that maybe this team still has what it takes to make the playoffs… they just don’t. It takes a lot for me to give up on the season’s playoff hopes, but I have now. I’ll still watch the games now though and hope for all the wins they can get, even if their draft position potentially gets worse.
Hemsky will be out for at least a week with a “nagging foot injury” from blocking a short a while back. That means more opportunity for Yakupv. With 8 games left and no hope in making the playoffs, I wouldn’t mind seeing Yakupov with Hall and Nuge for a bit, or even with Gagner and Hall.. juggle the lines a bit to maximize offensive potential, and see what he can make with it. Of course it could be a disaster defensively too, but who knows.
Lines below have been confirmed. Khabibulin gets the start tonight, which I don’t think is a bad idea considering Dubnyk played a pretty bad one the last game. But you aren’t going to win too many games with one goal, so I don’t pin the loss on him.. just saying it is a good time for some Khabi action. Continue reading 'Oilers 1, Flames 4 – Game 41 – 2013-04-13 @ 8:00 PM MST – CBC'»
The Oilers are on the ropes. Not mathematically done, but basically done. They’re going to need a miracle at this point. They don’t hold the tie breaker on Detroit or Dallas (regulation or overtime wins), so that makes life tough, as is. They’re also now 4 points out of a playoff spot with 9 games left to make up that difference. They can’t worry about other teams though, only themselves. They can’t worry about Saturday’s game yet, only today’s. They just have to keep showing some fight until they are mathematically eliminated. The problem is, I’m not sure they’ve shown that much fight as of late, outside of the usual suspects. Some players like Hall are dragging this team along, while others such as .. well… let’s just say the usual people… are dragging this team down, instead. I don’t think this team is really built yet for playoffs, or to even compete to make the playoffs, so I give them a bit of slack.
They have glaring holes, so a lot of this rests on the shoulders of the GMs that continually watch it happen. There are fans that seem to accept this too, making excuses: “we can’t trade during the regular season.. it never happens. We can’t sign guys in the off-season, they won’t come here (granted, they won’t if we keep messing things up here). We can’t trade guys leading up to the deadline, because we might crush the team’s spirit (a lot of good that did). We can’t trade for guys during the off-season, because we should see what we have here first. Where are we going to find a big center.. no one trades those.” Enough with the stupid excuses. The management doesn’t need our free pass. Management needs to address the team needs. Other teams trade for big centers from time to time.. other teams trade in the course of a season, even if it’s more rare. We also didn’t need to go through another bad season to recognize the holes. Just because The Hockey News thought we’d be good doesn’t mean we don’t have issues here. I would have fired the group a while ago, but I’d imagine Katz is on the same page as our management group.
Anyways, enough on that.. this is a new game, and we just have to take them 1 by 1. Every loss is going to be astronomical, but until there is no chance, there’s still a chance.. so I hope to see some “give a damn” the remainder of our games. Will we make the playoffs? As I told my friend, Vygur: “The realist in me says no. The optimist in me says.. probably not.” But it ain’t over til it’s over.
I won’t sugar coat it, it will take a miracle to make it into the playoffs now. The Oilers had a terrible weekend.. not just because of how they played, but because of how other teams played. The bottom teams are catching up, and the teams ahead of them are gaining some ground. It does not look good. But humoring the possibility, the famous playoff chances site – Sports Club Stats – has Edmonton at 14.7% now. An 8-2-0 record will likely do it. A 7-2-1 gives us a 68.1% chance, by their calculations. It ain’t ova till it’s ova. But it’s pretty much over. I still have a glimmer of hope though, being the sucker I am. But the Oilers are going to have to play better if they have a hope in hell of doing it. Lucky for the Oilers (I suppose?) we have 7 of the last 10 games at home. Three of the games are versus less awesome teams – the Flames, Coyotes, and Avalanche. The rest are going to be tough ones. They are against the Ducks (3 times), the Wild (twice), the Hawks, and the Canucks. It isn’t over… but it sure doesn’t look good. Their biggest hope of catching a team lies in Detroit. They also have the teams like Phoenix, and Dallas to worry about too. If those teams pace the Oilers, we’re done.
It doesn’t look good.. but it’s sure better than drafting #1 overall yet again.
Today’s game is an early one. I always hated the early games. Aside from screwing up my afternoon plans, it seems like we lose these more often than not, but I’m sure that this is more related to how poor this team has been the last few years, more than anything else.
Not sure if we’ll finally get to see Jerred Smithson for this one. There was some media talk that he might be available for it. The Smithsons had their new baby, Hunter, a couple of days ago. So that may make him available for this one. I’d like to see him in the lineup soon. From what I’ve seen, he’s a big body that uses his size well, and is very reliable defensively. Plus he’s a faceoff wizard, so it’ll be like having Eric Belanger back, but with some edge to his game. I’m not sure that is really all that much of a good thing though, but we’ll see. I’d imagine that Ryan Smyth will do some sitting if we see Smithson.
I also think it is long overdue for some Mark Fistric time. Ditto, for Theo Peckham, but there is some weirdness going on there that keeps him out of our lineup, and I’m not sure what it is. But in his debut game, I thought he looked quite decent. Right now, I’m worried that Peckham is just going to disappear off the planet.
Last night’s games did not go well for the Oilers. Detroit gained a couple points on the Oilers (the Oilers really need to win today and at least try and keep pace until the Wings slip up). The Blues also won, increasing their gap. They are 3 points ahead of the Oilers with a game in hand (2 after today). The Stars moved up a bit as well and are now 2 points back of the Oilers. It goes without saying, but a win today is very important. Continue reading 'Oilers 1, Kings 4 – Game 38 – 2013-04-06 @ 2:00 PM MST – SNETW'»
Roberto would like you to know that his contract sucks. That’s why he wasn’t traded. Good point, and I’m in full agreement. Pretty honest words from Lou though. He’s endeared himself to fans though lately with his @strombone1 account on Twitter. He’s a pretty funny guy and that’s probably the only thing keeping him somewhat sane these days, amidst all the pressure. Not sure if he starts or if it will be Schneider. His team will have to look past that negativity though.
The Oilers.. wow.. smoked Calgary good last night. It’s about time. It’s nice for our team to not only shut up Flames fans in our building, but to overtake their building with cheers for Oilers goals. The Flames are in for some really painful times though. This is just the start. I want to caution that we beat up on a really bad team though. But I also want to give some credit, cause in the past, the Oilers wouldn’t have showed up at all for that kind of game. I find they typically put their best effort in vs. the tougher teams and coast by against the bottom feeders. They started off looking like that team, early on, when Calgary got a 2-0. However, the Oilers completely turned things around. After the first goal, it was like someone hit them with a defibrillator.
Paajarvi might miss this one. If he does, expect Smyth to play in his place, and Lander to be called up to center line 4. New guy Jerred Smithson is not ready to play yet, as his wife is ready to have a baby, if she hasn’t yet. Other than that, I don’t suspect there will be any lineup changes. I’d really like to see Fistric or Peckham in for the more physical opponents, but doesn’t look like that will happen. Continue reading 'Oilers 0, Canucks 4 – Game 37 – 2013-04-04 @ 8:30 PM MST – SNETW'»
NY Rangers 2 Boston 3 (FINAL - OT) San Jose 3 Los Angeles 4 (FINAL)
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