Game Thread: Oilers at New York Islanders - Another Matinee Game

Back-to-back afternoon games, really? Who makes up the schedule for this league? I mean, is this even legal? If it is it probably shouldn't be. I don't know what the records of every NHL team are in matinee games, but if there are many, perhaps any, with a record in afternoon games worse than the Oilers in recent seasons I would be surprised. Of course the Oilers have been lousy in those seasons and that certainly contributes to their lousy record in matinee games, but it seems like the Oilers play even worse than normal when the puck drops in the afternoon. See yesterday's game, for example.

After a complete team win agains the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night, the Oilers treated their fans to a complete team loss against the Canadiens yesterday, losing by a score of 5-1. If you can say with a straight face that anyone in a Oilers jersey played a good game yesterday, you're a better person than I am. For my money, from top to bottom, the Oielrs were flat out terrible. There was plenty of focus on Justin Schultz, as there always is, but there was plenty of blame to go around as the Oilers were blown away on national television.

Today the Oilers are in Long Island Brooklyn to take on the Islanders, a team that, like the Oilers, also yesterday afternoon by a score of 5-1. The Islanders are currently fifth in the Metropolitan Division (seriously, who came up with this name?), one point back of the Penguins and Devils who are tied for third place and a playoff spot; the Islanders have games in hand on both though. Games in hand and a visit from a last place team, it doesn't get much better than that for a team looking to make up some ground as they push for a playoff berth.