About 37 seconds into tonight's Oilers/Canucks game, I came to the realization the Oilers were going to lose. Aside from Devan Dubnyk, the Oilers stuck 18 empty uniforms on the ice in Vancouver.
I shouldn't say "18" empty jerseys. For about 10 minutes in the 2nd period, Ales Hemsky was making magic. The boy does own some sweet hands. Here's hoping the Hemsky we witnessed during the last 15-20 games is the Hemsky we get all of next season. Provided, of course, he's still an Oilers next season. If the Oilers win the draft lotto, they will take right-winger Nail Yakupov, because he's the clear top prospect. If they do that, Hemsky is gone.
Did you see Dubnyk's ridiculous stick save?
How about a little Dubnyk love for Team Canada in May? Sounds like Carey Price is questionable. Dubey would be a fine 2nd fiddle to Cam Ward.
One final note about the Oilers ugly game against the Canucks: The refs. I saw Shawn Horcoff lose a tooth or two thanks to an obvious high stick, and a different Oiler get elbowed in the head, in a "hit from behind" sort of way. No calls. In fact, Ben Eager got a penalty for defending the Oilers player who was hit from behind. The refs this season are embarrassing and the league needs to look into whether or not refs intentionally favor teams playing against the Oilers. Stuff like this has been going on for months without a decent response from the league.
Food for Thought on the Last Day of the Oilers Season:
- Someone trying to convince me on Twitter that Linus Omark will be put on waivers and sent to the AHL. Ummm, no. Oilers aren't going to do anything to lose Omark without getting something in return. It's actually in the team's best interests to let him go to Europe for the World Championships. If he lights it up, there's hope they can deal him for a reasonable pick at the draft. 3rd rounder, perhaps. Steve Tambellini might be dumb, but he's not stupid.
- Speaking of Tambellini, expect the Oilers to announce now that the season is over that he's received a contract extension. Tambellini has a ticket booked for the Draft Lotto on Tuesday in Toronto, and there's no way the Oilers would let him go to that if he wasn't representin'.
- Playoff excitement, Oilers-style: The Edmonton Oilers webpage has a NHL Draft Lotto Simulator, where you can see if the Oilers win the 1st overall pick. You know you're a loser franchise when...
- To end tonight's blog...Someone posted a different Tweet I liked, so I'm gonna somewhat copy it. Mike Turner sent me the following:
@rdcloutier players I don't want back next season: Belanger, Smyth, Horcoff, Barker, Hordichuk, Peckham, Whitney and maybe Eager.
Thanks Mike. Here's my list of who I want back, who I don't, and who I'm not sure:
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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