You guessed it, Nationeers. It’s lazy Sunday. That means today, I’m not even thinking about hockey. But who can blame me? The last seven games have been a difficult pill to swallow — with a record of 4-6-0 in the last ten— and although many people warned me, including several Nation writers, I still wasn’t prepared for the thoroughly average to below-average play displayed by this team so far this season. Because I’m an overly optimistic team booster with an ecstasy problem.

We’ve logged a total of 16 games. Inspiration and grit seemed to be the name of the game when the season launched. Penner showed us he was more than an over-paid garburator, Comrie pulled a heck of a comeback to a city that once loathed him, and even Khabibulin literally pulled out all the stops.

And then the Oilers of yore showed up. The kind that can’t stick passes, can’t put the puck on net, and rely on an old sack of bones of a goalie to pull them through the worst of times.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a tinge of hope settled into the back of my mind. That somehow Pat Quinn and Tom Renney will find a way to horsewhip this crew of layabouts into a winning hockey team, especially against a team our own Jonathan Willis has said shouldn’t be this good.

I’m not overly optimistic about tonight, though — I still expect the Oil will lose on this lazy Sunday, just because that seems to be the name of the game these days — but I’d also settle for a 2-1 win. In regulation.

I need a drink. And more ecstasy.