Chapter 2: A Homecoming of Sorts

The Oilers Nightmare Storybook Season Continues….

This chapter played out, much like the last one did with 2 wins. What’s bothering me is how badly the Oilers are getting killed at home. To be fair, they’ve only played 6 games at home but nevertheless, his team hasn’t scored a goal @ home since 17:56 of the 3rd period, back on October 24 in an uninspired 4-1 loss to the Washington Capitals. Since then they’ve laid 2 straight eggs at home, 1 to the Leafs, a 4-0 loss followed by a 5-0 loss to the Red Wings. The ugly part of those 2 games is that both of them were over inside of 6mins during the 1st periods. Also, the players had a “closed door meeting” after the Leafs game & were so inspired they came out with effort that may go down as one the worst home games ever. 10 GF, 26 GA in 0nly 6 games leaves plenty to be desired at home so maybe playing 5 of the next 9 at home will help.

1) Mathematically Eliminated in November?

My mathematical formula of 1.16pts/game to make the playoffs may be still intact but it seems evident the Oilers will never pile together enough wins to get even close. With 10pts in 19GP the Oilers are averaging a putrid 0.53pts/game which is less than half of what they need. To put it in perspective, this team needs to make-up 80pts, just to hit 90 with only 63 games left. That will require something like 35-18-10, yeah… right. This team is on pace for a remarkable 43pt season. So here we are, just 2 weeks into November & I’m already looking stupid with a bold playoff prediction instead, look forward to yet, another lottery pick.
#BeBadForEkblad

2) Injuries Piling Up

It never seems to end, does it? All teams go through this, but the better ones have a knack of surviving through it sy then, well the Oilers. Through November 10, 2013, the Oilers are leading the league in man games lost to injury, a statistic that hurts since it’s usually key guys out of the line-up. A lead of 20 man games lost over the next closest team is a reminder that somewhere in the midst of this 19 game trainwreck, the Oilers couldn’t ice an entire team! Health is always a major factor & there was a bright moment in this stretch where Tyler Pitlick played his 1st career NHL game, scored a goal & within a period, suffered a knee injury. Welcome to the Oilers!

3) The Sam Gagner Project!

I remember being at the 2013 Oilers camp late in January & I noticed how much quicker Gagner was then the rest of the guys. Maybe it was from playing in Austria, or maybe it was because he had legitimately gained foot speed. Well, whatever he had back in January, has completely left him now. He’s coming back from an ugly stick swinging incident where Zach Kassian of the Canucks broke Sam’s jaw in the pre-season. The thought was he’d miss 6-8wks, but instead was back in less than 6wks. Good right? He’s looked lethargic, timid, slow & completely inept of anything that involves defensive zone awareness. That’s normal for a 24yr old center though, right? Not really, Sam’s been doing this now for 7yrs & this is his 5th coach in that time. Part of me says well hey, he’s had to learn new systems almost every year under a new coach but the other part of me knows the truth. He’s not a 2nd line center. He still pinches too hard & back checks too softly & it’s obvious to me anyway that Eakins will not take him out until he’s ready, instead the coach will die on a hill making Gagner a centerman when in fact, it’s sinking the team into a deeper gulch

4) The Four Headed Goalie Monster

Needless to say, I predicted the Oilers needing this to happen in order to have any chance of making the playoffs. I take you back to the year 2006. The Oilers started the season with a tandem of Ty Conklin & Jussi Markannen. Both finished the year with a .880 save % & were joined through the midway point of the season by Mike Morrisson. It was ugly, they needed a legit goaltender & what was amazing was that particular team to tough out enough points to stay in the playoff hunt. They added Dwayne Roloson at the trade deadline to which many MSM & fans were confused, why Roloson? Kevin Lowe could only add, “well, we really liked his save %”, which at the time was .906. Now we’re in the same situation, only this team is much worse defensively than possibly the AHL affiliate from that year. Ilya Bryzgalov was signed recently & is currently in a conditioning stint with the OKC Barons for the next week. Richard Bachman has arguably been the Oilers most consistent starter this year & is back in OKC. Fair to say, the goaltending situation has been a nightmare

4) The Sam Gagner Project!

I remember being at the 2013 Oilers camp late in January & I noticed how much quicker Gagner was then the rest of the guys. Maybe it was from playing in Austria, or maybe it was because he had legitimately gained foot speed. Well, whatever he had back in January, has completely left him now. He’s coming back from an ugly stick swinging incident where Zach Kassian of the Canucks broke Sam’s jaw in the pre-season. The thought was he’d miss 6-8wks, but instead was back in less than 6wks. Good right? He’s looked lethargic, timid, slow & completely inept of anything that involves defensive zone awareness. That’s normal for a 24yr old center though, right? Not really, Sam’s been doing this now for 7yrs & this is his 5th coach in that time. Part of me says well hey, he’s had to learn new systems almost every year under a new coach but the other part of me knows the truth. He’s not a 2nd line center. He still pinches too hard & back checks too softly & it’s obvious to me anyway that Eakins will not take him out until he’s ready, instead the coach will die on a hill making Gagner a centerman when in fact, it’s sinking the team into a deeper gulch

5) Bye Bye Ladi?

Who seen this coming? I tried making reason of this deal, with the theory that it was a cap space move to make room for a better defender. That hasn’t happened yet & now an already soft team to play against is even softer now & the return was nothing short of robbery & to all places, Calgary. Souray, Gilbert & now Smid let go & all we have left is Nick Schultz from those 3. This particular move is internal. There’s something dark about it as there was no reason for the move to be made other than Smid not getting along with someone.
Stay tuned for more boldness

6) The Return of Horcoff

Drafted 99th overall in the 4th round of the 1998 draft, Horcoff established himself as a smart, quick, skilled & hard working center. He was groomed slowly by the Oilers until playing his 1st full season in 2002-03. He was never going to be a pt/game player but playing with Hemsky & Smyth in the magical year of 2005-06 he hit career numbers of 22G & 51A. That led to a nice 3yr extension. In February of 2008, Horcoff was on a tear with 51pts in 53games then got injured & while recovering, was signed to a 7yr, 33.5million dollar extension, one which he could never live up to in Edmonton. On October 6, 2010 he was named the 13th captain in club history. He was traded to the Dallas Stars this summer for Philip Larsen & a 7th rnd pick.
This will be my favorite Horcoff goal forever & always. Not just because I was there, but because it was the turning point in that Cup run from 2006 .

Thanks for everything Shawn!

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