After Friday night’s disaster against Calgary, the Edmonton Oilers will be looking for a rebound effort with the New York Rangers in town to close out the calendar year.

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m still annoyed about the way Friday night’s game played out against the Flames even as I write this. From the very start of that game, the Oilers were unprepared to play and seemed to shoot themselves in the foot almost every chance they got, which was incredibly frustrating to watch against a team like the Flames where they should have no problems getting themselves motivated. To put it lightly, that game was a nightmare. In all three zones, the Oilers were sloppy and out of sorts, leaving ample opportunity for the Flames to make plays and take advantage of all kinds of unnecessary zone time. From buzzer to buzzer, that evening was infuriating beyond repair and even thinking about it right now is making me mad all over again.

It goes without saying that the Oilers will have to be much better in every facet of their game if they legitimately want to end their losing skid and get back into the win column tonight against the Rangers. I mean, we’ve heard plenty of talk from the boys about what needs to be done over the past few days, a standard around these parts when things go poorly, but now it’s time to see if they can follow it up with some action. With the lines freshly blended, a pair of guys recalled from Bakersfield, and the Nation brimming with murderous rage, the Oilers have a lot of pressure on them to get off the schneid and find their way back into the win column. Even so, tonight’s game against the Rangers will be no gimme. Despite not having neither Connor or Leon, New York has players that can score and they actually generate more offence than Edmonton, and that’s going to be another big test for a defensive group that’s been shaky of late. Can it be done? Of course. But getting the job done certainly won’t be easy.

At least the Oilers are rock solid in New Year’s Eve games, right? *sigh* Happy New Year, everybody!

Neal – McDavid – Kassian
Nygard – Draisaitl – Yamamoto
Khaira – RNH – Gagner
Sheahan – Haas – Archibald

Klefbom – Bear
Nurse – K. Russell
Lagesson – Larsson

Koskinen

The blender is out, turds have been thrown at the wall, players have been recalled, and it’s time for the Edmonton Oilers to prove that they can compete. At this stage of the season, there’s not much time left for excuses and they need to start piling up some wins or we’ll be left with another playoff-less run filled with sadness and rumours of certain captains wanting out. Basically, what I’m getting at here is that winning is the only option this team has left and if they’re not going to do it then management needs to speed up whatever plan they’ve got because time is running out.

Kreider – Zibanejad – Buchnevich
Panarin – Strome – Fast
Lemieux – Chytil – Kakko
Smith – McKegg – Howden

Skjei – Trouba
Staal – DeAngelo
Lindgren – Fox

Georgiev

How good would Ryan Strome look as the Oilers’ 3C right now? The answer: very good.

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