So the Edmonton Oilers played their final game on Sunday afternoon against the Colorado Avalanche in a game that meant literally nothing to either team points wise. Hopefully you received some enjoyment from this game, my last Oilers hockey of the season was the 6-1 loss to the Calgary Flames. The Avalanche were the victors in overtime, taking their total to 68 points on the season, and leaving the Oilers with 62. This spread is much better than last season. For 2009-10 the Oilers finished with 62 points, BUT the Toronto Maple Leafs who finished 29th had 72 points. Despite the Oilers failing to earn more points, at least they don't look quite as bad by comparison. True, maybe in my eyes only.
The Edmonton Oilers did win the first overall 2011 NHL entry draft choice for the second year in a row, despite the New Jersey Devils winning the draft. The Devils moved from 8th to 4th place, and the Oilers maintain their bottom, or top placement.
In other news, the Oklahoma City Barons did make it into the AHL playoffs, and are playing the Montreal Canadien's farm team, the Hamilton Bulldogs. The Oilers sent the Barons some "fresh" legs to help them through the organization's first playoff series. The reinforcements sent back down to Oklahoma City were Teemu Hartikainen, Chris VandeVelde, Jeff Petry, Ryan O'Marra, and Linus Omark.
The Barons lost their first game, 5-2 with Jeff Deslauriers in net. The second game was Saturday afternoon in Hamilton. Martin Gerber was in net, and the Barons lost 2-1. The series will go to Oklahoma City Tuesday night and the Barons are not out of this best of seven series yet. They will need to win at least one game in Hamilton however. I think it's great that the Oilers have been getting as involved as they are with the playoffs, posting stories, interviews and highlights on the Oilers main webpage. Oilers fans deserve some playoff hockey to cheer about.
Tom Renney had some closing thoughts on the season:
Renney as expected sounded overall fairly positive. I would have been upset if I heard him go on and on about what a bunch of losers these guys are. They have the tools and the raw talent and given time the core of this team can be successful. In fact, Steve Tambellini thinks playoffs are a part of the picture for next season and I agree with him. I'm not saying it will happen or I will do something rash or embarrassing, but without 5 or 6 ankle injuries I think this team can go places. I didn't see this team finishing last, I didn't even think they would be bottom 5, but this year is what it is, and now it's over.
Jordan Eberle and Devan Dubnyk will be joining Team Canada for the World Championships. This is still an honour for both players, and Oilers fans will of course wish both players the best and hope that they will make the starting roster. If they can't play for the Oilers in the NHL playoffs, they may as well get some more games under their belts, and maybe even learn something from some other great players.
The Phoenix Coyotes situation is still up in the air, but apparently Sportsnet and some on TSN are speculating that the team will move. The bond sales are still not what they need to be.
Putting this update together was perfect for me, I was on a small island paradise for the past week so now I feel caught up. If I left anything out, please feel free to let me know!