Edmonton was without two-thirds of their top line and their top d-man against the Kings. What else were you guys expecting? I don't see how tonight should suddenly be a tipping point. Though the loss of Petry was all on Eakins....

Exactly -- sometimes, teams are just bad. Sometimes teams have injuries, sometimes teams get old and don't see the awful season coming.

We all get it. Someone is going to finish in the bottom half of the league. It's just blogs like this that make it unseemly, like a team should embrace it's losing so it can be rewarded.

That is the mentality that has to be erased: that failure is rewarded. It shouldn't necessarily be punished, but you can't have a race to the bottom. That is a brutal business model in a sports league.
- AllInForFlyers

Not only that but getting the first pick doesnt equal up to greatness....hell we are the best example of this....people already think that McDavid is the second coming of Gretz without ever playing a NHL game so thats not even a for sure thing either

I just wanna win damn it!!!
- RatedR80

I hear you, brother. I spend way too much time thinking about what it takes to win, which is why lotteries and tanking bother me so much.

Somebody's going to finish 30th. Embracing it...that just bothers me.

Not only that but getting the first pick doesnt equal up to greatness....hell we are the best example of this....people already think that McDavid is the second coming of Gretz without ever playing a NHL game so thats not even a for sure thing either
- RatedR80

times that by ten when ur entire core for the first couple years was just those kids.
that had zero insulation



maybe some people don't, but im a firm believer in confidence being huge in pro sports and learning how to win. living here, i saw it in that canucks team those years where they had a few heartbreaks, but learnt to win a little a time and grew into the best team in the game for 2 solid years. and elite for about 4. (game 7 is a coin toss and i still say they were the better team)
u could see they knew they would get it done some nights even playing poorly or missing key guys. we're so far from that its not funny

4 years of bottom feeding for ebs and hall...
its just all bad i think.
terrified to think its possibly been too much

times that by ten when ur entire core for the first couple years was just those kids.
that had zero insulation



maybe some people don't, but im a firm believer in confidence being huge in pro sports and learning how to win. living here, i saw it in that canucks team those years where they had a few heartbreaks, but learnt to win a little a time and grew into the best team in the game for 2 solid years. and elite for about 4. u could see they knew they would get it done some nights even playing poorly or missing key guys.

4 years of bottom feeding for ebs and hall...
its just all bad i think.
terrified to think its possibly been too much
- hugefemale dog77

I remember that with our team from the 80s....you gotta go through the experience to make yourself better and move onto the next level but I agree....all we have been doing is losing and not going to the next level......I also hope that we can turn it around before its too late for guys like Hall

I remember that with our team from the 80s....you gotta go through the experience to make yourself better and move onto the next level but I agree....all we have been doing is losing and not going to the next level......I also hope that we can turn it around before its too late for guys like Hall
- RatedR80

they need something. just a little luck to win a few games they don't deserve, get the ball rolling and building confidence. they'll just start playing better. even if they lose, it wont be a foregone conclusion and we certainly wont be run out of buildings.

with every loss the pressure mounts and the confidence wanes..

not closing against the nucks and blowing the 2 points, and then getting walked on by LA the very next game is no coincidence imo

times that by ten when ur entire core for the first couple years was just those kids.
that had zero insulation



maybe some people don't, but im a firm believer in confidence being huge in pro sports and learning how to win. living here, i saw it in that canucks team those years where they had a few heartbreaks, but learnt to win a little a time and grew into the best team in the game for 2 solid years. and elite for about 4. u could see they knew they would get it done some nights even playing poorly or missing key guys.

4 years of bottom feeding for ebs and hall...
its just all bad i think.
terrified to think its possibly been too much
- hugefemale dog77

Exactly -- I mean, look. I'm not being dense. It's better to have Sidney Crosby than Sidney Jones. I get it. Talent is important. Elite talent is great to have.

But I do believe that winning as much as you can matters. Losing begets losing. I think winning as many games as you can builds toughness and character.

Right now, I admire Calgary, believe it or not. Because those boys are under talented, but damn if they aren't out there killing themselves to win every hockey game they play.

They won't. But you have to try. And when it turns and you get better, the guys who were there will know how hard it is to win and they will embrace winning.

they need something. just a little luck to win a few games they don't deserve, get the ball rolling and building confidence. they'll just start playing better. even if they lose, it wont be a foregone conclusion and we certainly wont be run out of buildings.

with every loss the pressure mounts and the confidence wanes..

not closing against the nucks and blowing the 2 points, and then getting walked on by LA the very next game is no coincidence imo
- hugefemale dog77

A win tonight would help alot...be nice to see them getting a win so they dont head home winless and maybe go from there but Eakins has to ice the best team he can because clearly his experiment failed big time against the kings

Exactly -- I mean, look. I'm not being dense. It's better to have Sidney Crosby than Sidney Jones. I get it. Talent is important. Elite talent is great to have.

But I do believe that winning as much as you can matters. Losing begets losing. I think winning as many games as you can builds toughness and character.

Right now, I admire Calgary, believe it or not. Because those boys are under talented, but damn if they aren't out there killing themselves to win every hockey game they play.

They won't. But you have to try. And when it turns and you get better, the guys who were there will know how hard it is to win and they will embrace winning.
- AllInForFlyers

i agree with this whole heartedly

and i completely understand ur thoughts on Calgary. i feel the same way. a brutal forward group that works there tail off every night. down the stretch last year they weren't an easy win. for anybody. in a week span i think they snagged a point from Anaheim and beat san jose and la.
however, i will say i think that true number 1 defenceman in Giordano is huge for any team, but even moreso one in their position. but nonetheless, impressive team for what they have.

the oilers are almost the antithesis of them in so many ways

A win tonight would help alot...be nice to see them getting a win so they dont head home winless and maybe go from there but Eakins has to ice the best team he can because clearly his experiment failed big time against the kings
- RatedR80

keep nurse in and get petry and marincin back.
move the puck from the backend, but concentrate on keeping it simple and limiting mistakes instead of pushing the play too much against the yotes. they'll be looking to capitalize on mistakes and counterpunch.
protect the front of your fuking net and don't overcommit.
don't take penalties as they'll crash the net and oel/yandle will make us pay from the point


its a really big game for this squad tomo

Exactly -- I mean, look. I'm not being dense. It's better to have Sidney Crosby than Sidney Jones. I get it. Talent is important. Elite talent is great to have.

But I do believe that winning as much as you can matters. Losing begets losing. I think winning as many games as you can builds toughness and character.

Right now, I admire Calgary, believe it or not. Because those boys are under talented, but damn if they aren't out there killing themselves to win every hockey game they play.

They won't. But you have to try. And when it turns and you get better, the guys who were there will know how hard it is to win and they will embrace winning.
- AllInForFlyers

The Flames were the same way last year too....they played their asses off every game win or lose and made the very best of the roster they had avaiable to them and personally I think our team could learn something from our provincal rivals

keep nurse in and get petry and marincin back. move the puck from the backend, but concentrate on limiting mistakes instead of pushing the play too much against the yotes. they'll just be waiting to capitalize on mistakes to counterpunch. protect the front of your fuking net and don't overcommit.


its a really big game for this squad tomo
- hugefemale dog77

It really is a big game I just hope the boys can dust off the ass whoppin they got in a span of 24 hours and just focus on what they need to do this game

Edmonton was without two-thirds of their line line and their top d-man against the Kings. What else were you guys expecting? I don't see how tonight should suddenly be a tipping point. Though the loss of Petry was all on Eakins....
- Nucker101

This is no time to be sensible.

The Flames were the same way last year too....they played their asses off every game win or lose and made the very best of the roster they had avaiable to them and personally I think our team could learn something from our provincal rivals
- RatedR80

I think Eakins is the wrong coach for this team, Krueger should never have been fired. He deserved a second year to see if he could improve the club. Fire Eakins and hire someone who can nurture the talent, the hard ass approach of Eakins doesn't seem to work with these guys. Maybe Mactavish should coach, I bet he would get more out of these guys.

Hall is from Calgary, Eberle lives in Calgary during the off season. Have you guys ever thought that maybe they are just sabotaging the Oilers on purpose??

Hall is from Calgary, Eberle lives in Calgary during the off season. Have you guys ever thought that maybe they are just sabotaging the Oilers on purpose??
- SolGoode

Have you been to Edmonton?

It's not a conspiracy, the city is just a boring place to live.

Who's sabotaging the Flames then? They suck too.

This is no time to be sensible.
- Yeti1181

Edmonton was without two-thirds of their top line and their top d-man against the Kings. What else were you guys expecting? I don't see how tonight should suddenly be a tipping point. Though the loss of Petry was all on Eakins....
- Nucker101

The Kings were without their 1st line d-man, a pivotal first liner, and a solid 4th liner.

It's not as if LA was completely healthy either.

Perhaps its time to shake the team up by trading either RNH, Hall, Eberle or Yakupov. It could send a message to the rest of the players. I don't watch the Oilers so wouldn't want to speculate. Who would you trade out of the four? What would you expect in return? By the way, I'm not suggesting a trade with the Sabres. Just curious as to what the Oilers could get in return for one of those players.

The Kings were without their 1st line d-man, a pivotal first liner, and a solid 4th liner.

It's not as if LA was completely healthy either.
- StayTunedMTC

I'm not an Oiler fan at all, but come on we both know L.A. is much better suited to deal with those type of injuries and were still heavily favoured to win this game by multiple goals.

Perhaps its time to shake the team up by trading either RNH, Hall, Eberle or Yakupov. It could send a message to the rest of the players. I don't watch the Oilers so wouldn't want to speculate. Who would you trade out of the four? What would you expect in return? By the way, I'm not suggesting a trade with the Sabres. Just curious as to what the Oilers could get in return for one of those players.
- 100goalseason

They should honestly gut their team and start over at the trade deadline. Keep Hall and trade the rest. Get the top 2 picks in this years draft. Free agents will see what they're doing and will want to sign there once the new arena is built. Just focus on defence this time.

If you have Hall, McDavid, and Eichel and a strong(er) defence there's no reason why they couldn't compete for the cup as quickly as the Pens did with Crosby and Geno.

They should honestly gut their team and start over at the trade deadline. Keep Hall and trade the rest. Get the top 2 picks in this years draft. Free agents will see what they're doing and will want to sign there once the new arena is built. Just focus on defence this time.

If you have Hall, McDavid, and Eichel and a strong(er) defence there's no reason why they couldn't compete for the cup as quickly as the Pens did with Crosby and Geno.
- Arctic_AARDVARK

So we should trade our top talent to turn around and do pretty much exactly what we ve already done? Wash, rinse, repeat

So we should trade our top talent to turn around and do pretty much exactly what we ve already done? Wash, rinse, repeat
- Yeti1181

Yeah.. Because of this years extremely strong draft talent.

Aside from thoughts of "tanking" (which is an insult to real fans); what are your real thoughts, Oiler Fans (tiers one and two alike) for the shames looking better than us this year? They do look better , and:
1) they don't have the top shelf talent we do (who would you need to get from the flames in a trade for Perron, eberle, Hall, Nuge, Yakupov or even Schultz?)
2) they don't have that much of a support cast... Their best D is Ladi Smid!
3) Jonas Hiller is better than our goalies, I will give them that...

So, I don't see how another top shel talent gives guts and compete to this team. I think this IS a coaching problem.
Renney was our man, I think. What do you guys think?

Someone should make a documentary on the Oilers rebuild, I'd watch the poop out of that.