A Dose Of Reality

When it comes to the 2015-16 NHL season, not much has gone according to plan for either the Edmonton Oilers or current Montreal Canadiens netminder Ben Scrivens. While the Oilers continue to spin their wheels when it comes to moving up the Western Conference standings, the 29-year old has watched his career continue to spiral out of control following what was a rather forgettable 2014-15 campaign. With that said, the comments Scrivens made about his former organization following his first win of the season in the Canadiens 5-1 victory over the Oilers on Saturday afternoon were not only surprising but frankly laughable. 

So Far, So Good

After dropping their home opener to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night, the Edmonton Oilers have essentially mirrored their start from 2014-15. While last year’s 0-3-1 record isn’t much different from this October’s 0-4 mark, there has been one major difference…the play of their netminders. 

Nilsson Continues To Impress

It may have been pitched to the masses as a battle heading into training camp but in actuality it was nothing of the sort. After agreeing to leave the KHL and signing a one-year/one-way deal in hopes of securing a spot on the Edmonton Oilers opening night roster, this was always about Anders Nilsson and no one else. 

A Diamond In The Rough

Over the past eight weeks, the Edmonton Oilers have added three goaltenders from outside the organization, in hopes of addressing an obvious weakness. While Peter Chiarelli is banking on Cam Talbot being able to carry the mail as an NHL starting netminder in the here and now, he is also hoping one of Laurent Brossoit or Eetu Laurikainen will eventually develop into a so-called goalie of the future.

Bernier Would Solve A Lot Of Problems

For the vast majority of Edmonton Oiler fans, it was next to impossible to even think the tandem of Ben Scrivens and Viktor Fasth could have been anywhere near as horrible in 2014-15, as the duo of Devan Dubnyk and Jason LaBarbera proved to be during the opening weeks of the 2013-14 season.

The Perfect Ending

For the players inside the Edmonton Oilers dressing room, that final buzzer could not have come soon enough. In a year in which many had pegged this team to at least show some marked improvement in the standings, they took yet another step backwards in putting together a simply disastrous 24-44-14 record. 

Brossoit Shines In Debut

As far as NHL debuts go, Laurent Brossoit could not have asked for things to have gone much better than they did on Thursday night against the San Jose Sharks. While his preference would have certainly been to skate off with his first career win, having to settle for a 3-1 loss in which the twenty-two year old was by far and away the best player on the ice could not have been overly disappointing. 

Thump!!!

Last night’s 8-2 thrashing handed the Edmonton Oilers what is essentially perfect bookends to what truly has been a season to forget. 

Too Many Hiccups

From an effort standpoint, it would be rather difficult to have any issue with the performance we saw from the Edmonton Oilers during last night’s tilt with the Winnipeg Jets. While Todd Nelson’s side essentially played the visitors to a standstill for much of the evening, it ultimately came down to a couple of things…special teams and goaltending. 

The Arrival Of The Nuge

Following last night’s 5-4 overtime win over the Philadelphia Flyers, one cannot help but wonder if someone within the Edmonton Oilers sent over a thank you basket to netminder Ray Emery for essentially handing them two points. 

Anything For A Stop

When you look up the National Hockey League career numbers of Curtis McElhinney, what you see is essentially the resume of backup goaltender. 

Predictable

While last night’s 5-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings was a fairly predictable outcome, it was yet another example of just how far away the Edmonton Oilers are from being anything other than a speed bump for the top teams in the Western Conference. While the current lineup is now “missing” three of the better players they had heading into the season, those being Taylor Hall, David Perron and Jeff Petry, it is not as though this Kings team has been firing on all cylinders this season. 

Desired Result

With the NHL Trade Deadline just around the corner, the Edmonton Oilers can finally see the finish line on what has been yet another disappointing season in good ol’ Oilers Nation. After last night’s 2-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues, the Oilers have just nineteen games remaining on their schedule and the end frankly can’t come soon enough. 

Jekyll And Hyde

While a rather large majority of the Edmonton Oilers fan base almost instantly fell in love with Ben Scrivens after he was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a third-round pick roughly thirteen months ago, it has not exactly been a smooth ride for the Spruce Grove native upon returning to his home province. 

The Good Ben Scrivens

Heading into last night’s game against the Boston Bruins, all anyone wanted to talk about was who Claude Julien would be starting in goal. After starting Tuukka Rask in fourteen consecutive games and twenty-three of the Bruins last twenty-four outings, word on the street was they were considering going with youngster Malcolm Subban against the Edmonton Oilers. 

U-G-L-Y

Hockey Day in Canada has traditionally not been kind to the Edmonton Oilers and Saturday’s afternoon tilt against the Ottawa Senators was no different. After stringing together three consecutive solid outings in the midst of a season-high six game road trip, Todd Nelson’s crew laid an egg in our nation’s capital in dropping a 7-2 decision. 

The loss saw the Oilers record fall to 3-9-3 during Hockey Night in Canada’s annual event and they have now posted a dreadful 1-6-1 mark in their eight appearances on CBC’s weekly broadcast in 2014-15. 

Trading Partners: Oilers, Maple Leafs And A No.1 Goalie

With the Edmonton Oilers in the midst of yet another disappointing season which will see them miss the playoffs for a ninth consecutive season and the Toronto Maple Leafs on the verge of making it nine of ten without a post-season appearance, these are certainly dark times for two of the most storied franchises in league history. 

Finally!!! (Take Two)

Ending losing streaks is something the 2014-15 edition of the Edmonton Oilers have become all too familiar with. While last night’s 3-2 shootout victory over the Florida Panthers was their first since November 9th, it also marked the fifth time this season in which this group had snapped an extended skid.

Much Better But Still Not Good Enough

Despite playing a fairly solid road game against one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, the Edmonton Oilers still found a way to stretch their franchise worst losing streak to fourteen on Thursday evening in Tampa Bay. 

The Need For A Pulse

When it comes to teams who absolutely own the Edmonton Oilers, there are two who tend to standout above all the rest…the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues.