Oilers schooled by Blackhawks - Score 5 - 2

Tonight, the Edmonton Oilers got schooled by the Chicago Blackhawks. Nikolai Khabibulin was a late scratch from the game due to a back injury. Jeff Deslauriers drew in for the game start with Edmonton Oil Kings tender, Torrie Jung, as the backup. When I first heard news of that goaltending tandem over at Lowetide, I actually thought it was a joke. This game was eerily similar to the previous tilt between the two teams minus the solid goaltending of Nikolai Khabibulin. Though Deslauriers let 3 goals in during just the first seven minutes of game play, the Oilers were simply out-classed during this game. To his credit, big Dustin Penner kept the Oilers on the scoreboard with an assist and a goal.

Pat Quinn:

It happened to a better hockey club (Calgary Flames) two nights ago.

There is some intelligence, IQ, to this game and we're not showing much IQ.

To be honest here, I am not going to provide my usual in-depth analysis of this game. The Blackhawks were a few goal-posts away from an even worse blow-out. The Hawks really put on a clinic again tonight with a demonstration of how to move the puck up the ice with stretch-passes, how to maintain puck-possession, how to cycle the puck, how to create turn-overs, and how to win puck battles. Outside of the Oilers top line of Penner, Horcoff, and Hemsky, the Oilers completely lacked another line who could even saw-off the opposition.

Pat Quinn who doesn't suffer fools gladly provided his typical candid post-game interview. I personally don't think that it's a stretch to sense the frustration that he has with his current roster. Is his remark about Calgary having a better hockey club essentially a knock on the Oilers management? If he's suggesting that even Calgary has a better roster of players, who else's fault is that? For whatever it's worth, I think that many Oilers bloggers regard Pat Quinn as a very astute and intelligent coach. His comments during the post-game interviews certainly seem to resonate with Oilers bloggers as an accurate reflection of our roster issues.

Last year, Craig MacTavish provided the following quote:

“We haven’t, as a team, been able to dominate anybody. It’s time for us to realize that,” he said. “It was hidden in the record but that is over.”

Lowetide's November Prophecies:

While the Oilers failed to make the playoffs last season, Craig MacTavish became the scapegoat or sin eater for all that ailed the team. In just November of last year, Lowetide (November 16th, 2008) was correct in predicting the demise of Craig MacTavish as the Oilers head coach:

This is the third time this season Craig MacTavish has taken verbal shots at his players in public. Each have been reported, and one imagines that they have some impact on the people involved. That's a double edged razor. I think these are the end times for Craig MacTavish as a head coach for the Edmonton Oilers. You can only shit on people for so long, no matter how correct you are in saying it. After awhile, they quit on you and it's impossible to fire the whole team.

In Lowetide's recent post today(November 21, 2009), this time he senses that Steve Tambellini's tenure might be coming to and end:

I believe Pat Quinn will be the General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers in due time. I believe that this season will end badly for Steve Tambellini. I believe Kevin Lowe is still in charge and I believe Daryl Katz is a long way from being the kind of owner he'd like to be and we pray for every night.

Will Lowetide's second November prediciton hold true again?