Game Thread: Oilers at Pittsburgh

The odds were long, but if the Oilers were going to make something, anything out of this season they were going to do it on this road trip. Five games against Eastern Conference opponents, games which were supposed to be winnable. But after a start in Washington the team's play has been uneven and the results have been what we've all come to expect, loss after loss after loss. And once again, any hope that there might have been for the Oilers went up in smoke. Hands up if you're tired of this by now?

Tonight the Oilers welcome Justin Schultz back to the lineup; to make room for him Griffin Reinhart was sent to the Oilers' AHL team in Bakersfield. How will Schultz be used? Will he be given the same I've time - especially power play time - that he was getting before, or will he have to show that he deserves the ice time? We'll know the answer to these questions in just a little while.