Welcome Back My Friends, To The Show That Never Ends

What a debacle.

The Oilers lost a close game to the Blackhawks on Saturday by a score of 7-1.  If you got lucky and avoided this game like the plague, a cursory glance at the score will let you know that this one was over before it began.  Ben Scrivens was yanked after allowing five goals on thirteen shots, David Perron scored the only Oiler tally well into garbage time, and the Blackhawks put this one well out of reach after just one period of play.  Marian Hossa collected four points with a goal and three assists, and to add insult to injury, fans pelted the Oilers with jeers as they walked through the tunnel after the game.

Getting smoked in your own barn by six goals would probably light a fire under most teams, right?  I mean, it's only year five of the rebuild, but surely these things can't happen in your house on national TV, right?  Something's got to be done about all of this.  Somebody's got to pay.  What did the Oilers do?  They did what any respectable club that got shellacked by six goals on national TV would do.  They did the most sensible, rational thing in the world:  they fired their goaltending coach, of course.  Frédéric Chabot has been replaced by Dustin Schwartz.  Perhaps they can hire a coach that will do something with the power play, or maybe they can hire a coach that helps the GM go get talent during free agency.  Goaltending hasn't been very good, but the Oilers as a whole have been a car wreck over the first quarter of the 2014-15 season.

Schwartz...where have I heard that name before?  Ah yes, the goaltending coach from the Edmonton Oil Kings. Shocker. I'm really not sure if this is an upgrade, a lateral move, or else, but is anyone really shocked that they found a replacement who worked for the Oil Kings?

Oh, right, the game.  Let's go!

The Oilers are saying

"We just don't want to pin this in one place...This is a team game and when one part struggles the other parts have to stand taller and carry more weight.  That's what we need out of the group right now"

• Tonight is Ales Hemsky's first game against his old club.  You remember, Hemsky, yeah?  The Oilers were able to get two draft picks for him when they dealt him to the Senators.  Good work, everybody.
• David Perron scored only his second goal this year in the Blackhawks game on Saturday.  This coming after he openly criticized coaches and Jultz. I'm sensing a connection here, maybe if you go after KLowe, you'll score a pair tonight.  Couldn't hurt.
• Wouldn't be too surprised to see Nikita Nikitin find his way back into the lineup after being scratched on Saturday.  Keep your eyes peeled.
• Luke Gazdic is going to make his season debut tonight on the third line.
• Who gets the luxury of starting in goal for the Oilers tonight?  Gonna throw a dart and say Viktor Fasth, as Ben Scrivens had a much forgettable night after yielding five goals in thirteen shots against the Hawks on Saturday.  Your mileage may vary.  This of course, means that Ben Scrivens will likely go.
• The Oilers are still winless against the Western Conference (0-10-1).  Tonight, that all changes.  (drinks)