We continue our look back at the 1997 Edmonton Oilers vs Dallas Stars first round playoff series today with Stars defenceman Richard Matvichuk. He grew up in Fort Saskatchewan and playing against his hometown team was a thrill. Matvichuk was a rugged, stay-at-home D-man who played against the Oilers’ top players. He and Ryan Smyth…
We continue our look back at the 1997 Edmonton Oilers vs Dallas Stars first round playoff series today with Oilers defenceman Drew Bannister. He was acquired at the trade deadline, but only played one game prior to the playoffs. He was one of the very young blueliners the Oilers used this series to upset the…
It has been 20 days since the last pro sports game was played. There were five NHL games on March 11th. Four NBA games were played and two were cancelled. It seems like yesterday that I was sitting in the press box when I read the NBA had postponed the game between the Utah Jazz…
On March 30th, 1979 the NHL announced it would be adding four teams from the World Hockey Association (WHA) and expand from 17 teams to 21. The Winnipeg Jets, Quebec Nordiques, Hartford Whalers and Edmonton Oilers became expansion teams. They paid a $6 million expansion fee.
We continue our series on the 1997 playoff series with Dallas Stars head coach Ken Hitchcock. This was Hitchcock’s first full season as head coach of the Stars. He coached 43 games the previous season after replacing Bob Gainey. Dallas finished second in the NHL in 1997 with 104 points. They were a veteran team…
The NHL draft lottery was tentatively set to take place on April 9th, but Covid 19 has put everything on hold. On Monday, the NHL sent out a release where they answered some questions about the future of the league. Their response about next season made me think any continuation of the 2019/2020 regular season…
Over the next few weeks, I will have a series of interviews from players and coaches from both the 1997 Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars discussing their thrilling seven-game series. Between 1993-1996 the Oilers were one of the worst teams in the NHL winning 98 of their 298 games over a four year span. Only…
Good afternoon Nation readers. Do you have plans tonight? Most of you were planning to watch the Oilers/Lightning game tonight I’m sure, so we’ve come up with a different option to fill your time. But before we get to that, let’s look at some random NHL stats and some of the biggest head-scratching player awards.
It is an uneasy time in our world. In the grand scheme of our lifespans, these next few weeks or months will be a very short time in our life, but very few, if any, of us have experienced anything like this. I’m confident we will be alright. It will be challenging at times, and…
I need a break from COVID-19 talk. I know it is serious, and it is great to see our country taking precautions to prevent the spread of it, but there’s only much to say about it (listen to the experts). The one benefit of no games, is it gives me time to look at some…
In a playoff race, every game matters. But some games have bigger playoff implications and tonight is one for both the Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets. After tonight, the Oilers’ next five games are against Eastern Conference teams followed by four games against Western Conference teams who aren’t competing for a playoff spot in the…
After Monday’s loss to Vegas Dave Tippett was very blunt about his team’s performance, or lack there of. “Our execution is so poor in a lot of different situations,” said Tippett. “Some of it is just guys being on their own page, thinking they can vary from the game plan. This is as disconnected as…
