- This is the song that never ends,
- It just goes on and on, my friends.
- Some people started singing without knowing what it was,
- And they'll keep singing it forever just because
- This is the song that never ends,
- It just goes on and on, my friends.
- Some people started singing without knowing what it was,
- And they'll keep singing it forever just because
- This is the song that never ends ...
Boy, nothing like another game at the Xcel Energy Centre to inject some spark into a sorry season. Energy Sink is more like it.
Fresh off of losses to worst-in-the-East Toronto and second-worst-in-the-West Columbus, the Oilers had little chance tonight when facing a real NHL team. Not that Minnesota Wild are any flaming hell, ranked 10th in the West and 8 points out of a playoff berth entering tonight's game. But on their ice, they are much, much, much better than the Edmonton Oilers, and have a 13-game home winning streak over the Oil to prove it. From an Oiler perspective, 0-11-2; 16 GF, 47 GA. Any questions?
The last time the Oil escaped St. Paul with 2 points was in 2007 January, when Derek Boogaard ran over Ales Hemsky 20 feet from the puck, concussing the Oilers' star and putting him on the shelf for 10 games. But the Oil scored the winner on the subsequent (two-minute) powerplay and emerged with a 2-1 victory. A painful win, but a win nonetheless. Since then, nothing but pain.
The stats say the Oilers outshot the Wild 36-28 tonight. That doesn't speak to the quality of those shots. According to Dennis King, who tracks scoring chances over at MC79hockey, the Wild outchanced the Oilers 25-15, including 22-9 at even strength. In other words, the vast majority of Minny's shots were excellent scoring opportunities, while the Oil's shots tended to come from the fringes.
The Oilers veterans didn't fare well by this metric, with the trio of Moreau-Horcoff-Pisani generating just a single scoring chance while being on for 6-8 against. It wasn't like they were lined up in a particularly unfavourable match-up; Quinn seemed to be rolling the lines for the most part. Moreau for example played between 2.3 and 4.9 minutes against all 12 Wild forwards. He and his mates were sheltered in terms of zone start - 12 offensive zone faceoffs vs. just 5 in the D-zone - but they still got worked.
Jeff Deslauriers had another tough night, allowing 4 goals on those 28 shots. This was a tough road trip for the young Oiler goalies, who over 4 games turned 13 goals of support into just a single standings point. I wouldn't conclude that tonight's game was decided between the pipes, but it certainly wasn't stolen there either. The Oilers lost this one on merit at all positions.
Not much else to say. This game is better off forgotten as soon as possible. Except ... is it over yet, Lamb Chop?