The Edmonton Oilers prevailed in the latest installment of the Battle of Alberta on Friday night, silencing the Saddledome ad grinding out a 2-0 victory over the Calgary Flames. Victories are always welcome, particularly on the road against the Flames, but the Oilers have put themselves in a precarious predicament after their 40th game of the season. The team seems to be in perpetual limbo, with fans experiencing mixed emotions after each game, win or lose.
Friday night's victory makes the Oilers 13-24-3 on the season, and leaves them five points back of the Flames for 14th in the Western Conference. Oiler fans are familiar with losing, the same way the Irish are "familiar" with potatoes or the Chinese are "familiar" with rice. Losing has become a dietary staple, and the team is destined to miss the playoffs for a seventh consecutive season. It wasn't a surprise, and most people have already come to terms with it.
However, the fans are left in that perpetual limbo between trying and tanking. Each win makes the overall record a little more respectable (for whatever it's worth) but diminishes the percentage that the draft lottery will reward the Oilers with another first overall draft pick. Keeping one eye on the ice and another on the standings, finding a silver lining in each darkened game or road trip, is an exhausting, conflicted, and hypocritical way to root for a hockey team.
Which direction are the Oilers headed? Only general manager Craig MacTavish can provide the answers and chart the team's course. And that perpetual limbo extends to the players themselves, particularly those who find themselves in a contract year. The question marks surrounding the team were reinforced during last night's game, which featured strong performances from two Oilers - Devan Dubnyk and Ryan Smyth - who have huge question marks surrounding them.
Dubnyk recorded the eighth shutout of his career in the victory over the Flames, matching Bill Ranford's career shutout tally as an Oiler. When I first saw that statistic I had to do a double take, because I hold Ranford in such high esteem. Dubnyk, on the other hand, I can do without. The lanky netminder has been feast or famine all season, seemingly alternating between dominant and dreadful with each start. He's an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, and I don't imagine him sticking around with the Oilers in any capacity.
Smyth scored both goals against the Flames, and the first was classic Smytty. Skating to the top of the crease, the puck literally bounced off the cage surrounding his heart and found the net. I'll refrain from stating how ironic that was, and I'll save the hero worship for another day. Bottom line: The 37-year-old Smyth now has six goals in 30 games, he turns 38 in February, and this is most likely the last season of his long and battle-tested NHL career. Of course, he could always return for another year or two.
That uncertainty facing both Dubnyk and Smyth isn't uncommon in Edmonton. Looking through the roster, nobody can say exactly which players will be wearing the copper and blue next season. Gagner? No clue. Yakupov? Who's to say. Hemsky? Very doubtful. Eberle? Not if I was calling the shots. Arcobello? Beats me. Gazdic? Probably, I suppose. Bryzgalov? No idea. Handful of AHL-caliber defensemen posing as NHL players? I don't know.
General manager Craig MacTavish hasn't brought about any meaningful change to signal which direction the team intends to go. Earlier this season, MacTavish stated that he was looking to trade the team's first overall pick for a player on an entry-level contract. If you had any confidence that he knew what he was doing you might be able to charge him with tampering, but the David Clarkson contract offer eliminates that possibility.
The Oilers will likely remain stuck in neutral for the remainder of the season, leading right up to the 2014 NHL Entry Draft this June in Philadelphia. That sets things up pretty nicely for a visit by the Flyers tonight. Win or lose, pass or fail, try or tank, tonight's outcome shouldn't offer any meaningful clarification about the team's direction. Nothing like hitting the halfway point of the season in perpetual limbo.
ryan.garner@hockeybuzz.com