St. Louis Blues edge the Oilers with goal from Alex Steen
The Edmonton Oilers were dealt their 12th consecutive loss by the St. Louis Blues at Rexall Place. As such, the Oilers remain five points behind the Carolina Hurricanes in last place in the NHL. The Oilers are yet to win a game in the month of January or in the year 2010. At this point, regular fans have probably turned off the Oilers in favor of other pursuits.
It may not feel like it, but tonight was a record-setting night for the Edmonton Oilers. With this loss, they now edge closer to the franchise's longest losing streak of 13 losses dating back to 1993-94. If the Oilers lose to Calgary on Saturday, they will break the record with a baker's dozen (13) in terms of consecutive losses. Watching the Oilers break their record of futility this season is somewhat depressing for many fans. What's more dismaying is that so far, there's been no response whatsoever.
Waiting for Oilers management to get fired, vets to get traded, the onset of a rebuild, or pretty much anything to happen within this organization is one hell of a waiting game for many Oilers fans with myself included. Well, at least a top-3 draft pick is looking nearly certain, so they're doing something right.
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Oilers Lose at Rexall... Again.
The first period was pretty uneventful with no scoring from either team. The Oilers were outshot despite having the only power play. Jeff Deslauriers did make a few good saves during this period. Well, he was certainly tested more than Chris Mason.
Ethan Moreau was burned by Keith Tkachuk in the Oilers' zone which lead to a good scoring chance for the Blues. Grebeshkov continued to look shaky and made a tape-to-tape pass to a St. Louis Blues player from the side of his own net. The Oilers were probably happy to end the period scoreless since they were outplayed.
Eric Brewer coughed the puck up to Ryan Potulny in the slot who's shot was saved by Chris Mason. Barret Jackman had good scoring chance for the Blues, but Deslauriers made the save. Is it just me or do you also think of Barrett Jackson auctions every time you hear his name?
The Oilers line of Comrie, Potulny, and Brule had a strong period. Potulny looked to be putting in a hard effort on every shift for this game.
The Oilers opened the games scoring with a goal from Dustin Penner. Nilsson found seam to make a cross-ice pass from the blueline to Penner in the slot. Just 15 seconds later, the Blues tied the game. Eric Brewer scored with a knuckle puck type shot from the point with Boyes providing the screen. Inially, it was thought that it deflected off of the shaft of Keith Tkchacuk's stick, but the video review showed that it went straight in.
Later in the same period, Deslauriers left a juicey rebound for Tkachuk, but it was shot over the net. Sam Gagner and Gilbert Brule both had good scoring chances for the Oilers. Gagner hit the side of the net while Brule was stopped by Mason.
Neither team scored on their power plays this period. Shot totals were 11-10 for the Blues.
Alex Steen scored what ended up being the game-winning-goal for the St. Louis Blues which was assisted by Daryl Sydor. Alex Steen beat Deslauriers from the right wing with a high shot.
This game had it all for the Oilers... pulling the goalie with a minute or so remaining to push for the tying goal, Ethan Moreau making blind passes to no one in the offensive zone, Shawn Horcoff flubbing one-timers, no Oiler who can make or receive a clean pass at speed, and Jeff Deslauriers with a backbreaking goal to lose the game.
During the game, Doug Maclean threw Oilers fans a bone by offering some hope for the future. Of course, there's Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, Jordan Eberle, and this year's 2010 draft pick. From Sportsnet, they spoke about the Oilers drafting Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin like it was a forgone conclusion that they would finish 30th by the end of the season. It probably is... Back to Doug maclean, he suggested that the Oilers add some grit to their defensive corps, find a checking center and some vets. Oddly enough, he of all people made more sense than either Lowe or Tambellini have since prior to the cup run.
Despite losing, the Oilers outshot the Blues 25-20.
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Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics.
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account!