Game Thread: Oilers at New York Rangers: Lucky Number Seven

The Oilers have won six straight games. I've been repeating that to myself since last night and it doesn't seem to make any more sense to me now than it did the first time I said it. And then there is the fact that the Oilers are in a playoff spot on December 15. If a six game winning streak sounds unlikely, what does that say about the Oilers being in a playoff spot in December?

Granted they're also just five points removed from dead last, and they're only in a playoff spot because of a somewhat strange playoff format, four of the six wins have come via what amounts to a coin flip, and there are still 61 games left to be played before the playoffs actually start, but the simple fact is they're in a playoff spot.

As much fun as the wins have been though, we all know that at some point the Oilers are going to lose another game. We do all know this, right? And with the Oilers playing the second of back-to-back games, on the road against the Rangers who currently sit sixth in the NHL and haven't played since Saturday night, the smart money is probably on the winning streak coming to an end tonight.

But the Rangers have been struggling lately, they're winless in three games and are 2-6-2 in their last ten games. And Todd McLellan decided not to chase the hot hand tonight, starting Anders Nilsson instead of Cam Talbot who stood on his head last night, so the Oilers lineup is about as optimal as is possible given the injuries. Will it all add up to a win? Stranger thing have happened. Hell, stranger things have been happening.