A friend emailed me this morning. He's a Penguins fan and has been sympathetic to my plight as an Oilers fan since the days of Domenic Pittis. He suffered through the bankruptcy, the sale, the Craig Patrick tear down and the rise of Sidney Crosby.
His e-mail said simply:
Bizarro NHL!
Western
Rank Team GP W L OT PTS GF GA Home Away Last 10 Streak 1 Edmonton 10 6 2 2 14 21 16 5-1-1 1-1-1 6-2-2 Won 4 2 Dallas 10 7 3 0 14 25 22 4-1-0 3-2-0 7-3-0 Lost 1 3 Chicago 9 5 2 2 12 27 23 3-0-2 2-2-0 5-2-2 Lost 1 4 Los Angeles 9 6 2 1 13 22 16 3-2-0 3-0-1 6-2-1 Won 1 5 Colorado 10 6 4 0 12 29 27 0-3-0 6-1-0 6-4-0 Lost 2 6 Anaheim 9 5 3 1 11 21 22 3-2-0 2-1-1 5-3-1 Won 1 7 Detroit 8 5 3 0 10 22 22 3-1-0 2-2-0 5-3-0 Lost 3 8 San Jose 8 5 3 0 10 25 19 1-2-0 4-1-0 5-3-0 Won 4 9 Phoenix 9 4 3 2 10 27 28 2-2-1 2-1-1 4-3-2 Won 1 10 St. Louis 10 5 5 0 10 26 27 2-1-0 3-4-0 5-5-0 Lost 1 11 Calgary 9 4 4 1 9 22 23 3-2-1 1-2-0 4-4-1 Won 2 12 Nashville 9 4 4 1 9 21 26 1-2-1 3-2-0 4-4-1 Won 1 13 Minnesota 9 3 3 3 9 20 23 2-2-1 1-1-2 3-3-3 Lost 1 14 Vancouver 10 4 5 1 9 24 29 2-2-1 2-3-0 4-5-1 Lost 2 15 Columbus 10 1 8 1 3 23 34 1-3-1 0-5-0 1-8-1 Lost 1
life must be good........
Indeed, Steve, it is.
It got me thinking, when was the last time the Oilers were in first place? When was the last time they were near the top of the standings? Hell, when was the last time they were competitive?
It turns out the last time Edmonton was this close to the top of the Standings was October 22, 2009.
| Team | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA |
| Colorado | 6 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 30 | 21 |
| Calgary | 6 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 36 | 31 |
| Edmonton | 6 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 36 | 26 |
| Phoenix | 6 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 21 | 12 |
From there on out, things didn't go well for the Oilers. We know that season ended...poorly, to say the least.
The last time the Oilers were in first place in the Western Conference was October 12, 2005.
| Team | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA |
| Nashville | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 8 |
| Detroit | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 17 | 11 |
| Edmonton | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 11 |
| Los Angeles | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 9 |
The Oilers were in a four-way tie for first. After that, things cratered for a couple of months until the Oilers acquired Jaroslav Spacek and Dick Tarnstrom. A few months later, they'd add Dwayne Roloson and Sergei Samsonov. That season, things ended...better.
On October 12, 2005, "Gold Digger" by Kanye West topped the charts, "Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" was #1 at the Box Office, the Astros were opening the NLCS against the Cardinals and the White Sox were opening the ALCS against the Angels. Taylor Hall was 13 years old, playing for the Kingston Predators.
It's been six years since the Oilers were in first place. Six long years. Enjoy it.