Another day, another dud. Tonight the sad-sack Oilers went into Denver and rolled over to the tune of 6-0. It was a sorry effort to say the least. The Oilers' teamwork was nonexistent, with one or two exceptions the team was unprepared to pay the physical price, and by all appearances mailed in the last 30 minutes of the game if not the entire 60. The Avalanche outhustled the Oilers in all three zones and in all three manpower situations, outscoring the Oilers 4-0 at evens and 2-0 on special teams. Colorado outshot Edmonton 34-24; despite this disparity, the Avs paid the price to block 20 shots, the Oilers just 7. Edmonton landed exactly one hit in the third period as the team rolled over and assumed the position.
Anybody who paid $15.95 for pay-per-view tonight can justifiably feel ripped off. At least nobody got hosed for up to $205 to see this stinker live, but 6 of the next 7 are in the "friendly confines". I can hardly wait.
Since the mirage of the five-game winning streak in early December, Oilers have posted a record of 1-14-1. 30 goals scored, 65 against, including 6 losses by 3 goals or more. Tonight's 6-goal shellacking represents a low point to date, but with Chicago on the sked next week one presumes the new "record" might not last long. As it is currently constructed the Oiler squad either can't or won't compete.
So this Oiler fan since 1972 is left wondering: when is somebody, anybody, going to step up and take some ownership of this situation? Injuries and illness are a partial excuse, but that's all. The performance has been miserable, whether we're talking about the owner, team president, general manager, coach, captain, players, or farm team. The Oilers are last in their conference, second last in the NHL, 29th out of 30. Their top farm team, the Springfield Falcons, has the worst winning percentage in the AHL, 29th out of 29. Their junior team, the Edmonton Oil Kings, is last in their conference, second last in the WHL, 21st out of 22. The whole organization is a disgrace from top to bottom. Is anybody accountable, or do we just have to suffer with this godforsaken mess until the end of time?
Enough already, Mr. Katz. Do something.