Glory be, the storylines we can follow today are myriad. Will the ghost of Ken Holland past put away the ghost of Ken Holland future? Who exactly will play for the Oilers today? Is winning the division important, or will we see Owen Michaels play before the end of the season?
WHAT TO EXPECT IN APRIL
- At home to: CHI, VEG (Expected 1-0-1) 1-1-0
- On the road to: UTA, SJS, LAK (Expected 2-1-0) 1-0-1
- At home to: COL, VAN (Expected 1-1-0)
- Expected Record: 4-2-1
- Actual Record: 2-1-1
- Season Record: 40-29-10, 90 points in 79 games
This is a big game for the Oilers. The club has shown the ability to play a solid defensive game but the entire process unspools faster than a prairie fire with a tailwind. The Oilers need the two points, the Kings can’t survive without them. Will that make a difference today? We will fnd out.
LINES AND PAIRINGS
- Podkolzin-McDavid-Savoie
- Jones-Nuge-Kapanen
- Roslovic-Henrique-Lazar
- Dach-Samanski-Frederic
I like the No. 1 and No. 4 lines, uncertain Max Jones—who I like as a depth winger—is going to be able to hang on the second line. Then again, if you slide Jack Roslovic up to the Nuge line, you’ve got yourself a quality jazz trio. I never get too attached to a Kris Knoblauch line, he sometimes finds a solution that looks like promising, but then throws it away the next period. I’m more convinced than ever Knoblauch needs a “are you sure you want to do that?” coach in the room when he’s riffing ideas. Jason Dickinson is out for today, and maybe for a longer period. It didn’t look fab.
The pairings should be the same, and we’ll see about the goalie. Connor Ingram practiced yesterday, coach wouldn’t name the starter and I haven’t seen a recall note on Calvin Pickard.
I genuinely like this team more than the last two, because there’s room to grow with some of these players. Vasily Podkolzin and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are competing right now for the same minutes (McDavid line, left side). Three years from now, that won’t be a conversation for the coaching staff. Management must have a plan for the aging out of Nuge, Zach Hyman, Mattias Ekholm and the considerable missed games total by Jake Walman every year. I’m not sure they do at this point, not for all of them. Podkolzin is a fantastic addition to the foundation pieces on the Oilers roster.
TJ Hughes makes a lot of sense for the Oilers. He is a RH skill player, he can play center and isn’t small (6.0, 183), he has a range of skills and should be considered a plug-and-play. I expect he’ll land elswwhere, but this would be a strong addition based on math and scouting reports.
Went to bed last night and missed Laferniere’s first pro goal – a snipe from the left side circles.
Condors lost 7-3.
Guys, it’s NHE in Hollywood. We should not be surprised at the officiating being the star of the show
Summarizing!
Lewandowski was again denied the gift of soup as the Blades were blanked 3-0. They trail the series 2-0 heading home.
Prospecting takes a break until Tiw’s Day.
I take the dog out for a mountain night walk for 15 and the 2-1 lead turns in to a 5-2 deficit – I don’t think I’m going to to rewind.
I might be alone.
But I am totally fine with seeding wherever… not sure the division title makes any difference other than a banner.
Mammoth are as good as any of the pacific teams.
Plus there is a decent chance we play LAK again… *sarcasm
Actually they could catch Anaheim and it could be a round 1 matchup for…
Yup and they have an easier schedule IMO. LA may even finish ahead of Edmonton.
The division title was always a nice to have, and still is (I do want it) but, as far as the playoffs this year, I think its really inconsequential.
Get in, which they’ve done, and don’t overthink the match up. Remember 2006 when they faced the mighty Red Wings. Good things happened and can again
Condors setting up one time bombs on the PP but no cash. A clear but a 2 on 1 develops on the zone entry – Griffith to Howard, backhand-forehand but a great save – alas, Majala, the trailer, pots the rebound.
2-1 Condors.
HEAVENLY FLAVOURED.
[Me describing the excellent slice of rhubarb strawberry pie I ate earlier.]
Vegas wins in OT and clinches a playoff spot while moving into first in the Pacific.
“HEAVILY FAVOURED”
Carter Hart.
.938
That’s what she said
Hold on, are the kings still “well positioned to win” the division?
I see vegas is playing two “non-playoff teams” the rest of the way and has a “laughably easy” schedule. For the “simple minded”, laughably easy means heavily favoured and an automatic win. I mean, why even play the games?
Are you asking yourself how Vegas and the Oilers managed to clinch a playoff spot when LA still has games to play?
You can be honest, we are all here to help.
Poulin with the transition and zone entry, drops to Howard who beautifully puts it cross ice to Griffith who snaps home the 1-1.
How’s Poulin been looking lately? He seemed to start with a flourish then fade.
He’s been a good player for the Condors over the last 3-4 weeks – playing a lot of 3C.
Colorado coach Jared Bednar just hit by a puck in the side of the head.
Gone to the dressing room.
Gotta be why the “heavily favoured” money puck avs allowed the knights to even get a point.
Ohhhhhhhhh, i get it now…..heavily favoured to beat Vegas at LOSING. Gotcha
We are officially clinched, so if you were worried, you can now unclench.
Looks like the same Condors’ lineup with Matt Brown in for Keppen and Tomkins starting.
Jarventie and Regula bossed last night’s game, who will be the stand-outs tonight?
Yes, the officiating was bad today.
But c’mon, it wasn’t the reason Edmonton lost.
The only impact it had was making an otherwise boring game more frustrating.
The Oilers were outcoached (LA mostly kept chances to the outside after the first 25) and they didn’t have enough healthy finishers in the lineup not enough traffic in front.
I find the ref-chasing to otherwise degrade really quality hockey talk in here (and I know I contributed to it, but mea culpa).
Respectfully, any bright light that is directed at the NHL Officiating department is well earned. The stories I’ve heard from people that were in the system are absolutely gobsmacking in terms of failures in recruitment, training, advancement, and supervision.
It’s not ref-chasing at this point IMO, it’s exposing something that drags down the quality of the on-ice product.
It’s not officiating, it’s called game management, and it’s a big reason for the final outcome of the game
With respect, this take baffles me. I lean with Prairie and Cowboy Bill below. Officiating is without a doubt flawed in almost every sport. Prairie makes an excellent point that it goes back to fundamentals. Add the human factor and you get some bad calls or non calls
It’s right to critique calls that are missed or calls that are made when there was no infraction. This transcends the human factor and poor training. It’s pathetic game management, an absurdity in professional sports. Take a look at the NFL – almost always unbalanced calls. As for yesterday’s game, they played well and were not beat by the better team. The officiating did factor into the result. But who cares, it was just a game and mission accomplished, they made the playoffs
I didnt see the third. But i understand the reffing may have gotten even worse. But this the nhl. Hockey is great, but from 3 vs 2 point games to the star treatment, this league is a joke.
The Edmonton Oilers have a 3–12–0 regular-season record over the last three seasons (2023–24 to 2025–26) in games officiated by Kelly Sutherland
Over that same time period that amounts to 2.2% of our wins, 14.0% of our regulation losses and 0% of our Bettman’s.
Oilers point percentage over that same time period:
.605 (7th in the league)
Point percentage with the Sutherland games removed:
.631 (would be 5th in the league)
Point percentage with non-Sutherland games removed:
.200 (would be last in the league by a margin of .172)
Should be fired but certainly minimally kept out of Edmonton games.
The NHL should be embarrassed by both a) that game and b) a team that is 34-45 is going to make the playoffs. They won’t be but they should be.
It’s also interesting that that team is well positioned to win the Pacific Division.
The Colorado Avalanche will have an outside impact on the Pacific standings since they are heavily favoured to beat Vegas tonight and Edmonton on Monday.
The Kings will take a trip through the dregs of the league in their final 3 games against Seattle, Vancouver and Calgary.
Bahahaha the moneypuck kings are “well positioned to win” the division now due to the moneypuck avs. Do the moneypuck oilers EVER get a say. Do the moneypuck oilers even exist? I guess with your math the Kings could even win the presidents trophy. Good work kiddo!
If only the Oilers also played one of those dregs…..
They do…once…but not 3 times.
If Vegas can beat Colorado than so can Edmonton. Hope Hyman is back for the final two games & Leon is back for a final game tune up before the playoffs.
I wonder if RNH is playing through an injury. Seems very slow to the play and fumbling lots of pucks in the last several games.
Well if he’s been resting for playoffs he should be very very well rested!!
He’s been struggling since his 1000th game.
Looking at the standings, how have the Oilers not clinched a playoff spot yet? Who can still beat them out.
Winnipeg if they win out in regulation and if the Oilers lose both remaining in regulation
My bad, I looked at the wrong numbers for regulation wins. Can I downvote myself?
Flyers helping so far!
Avs vs VGK coming up should be a good one to watch at six.
Goalies need to make the expected saves as well as some unexpected saves. Ingram did that today. If he can do that in the playoffs the oilers have a chance every game.
The oilers don’t need a hasek to win. They just need an osgood.
Ingram was very good today.
You could even say Calvin was Osgood or better than Chris.
Two home games left.
I think the likes of Drai, Hyman and Dickinson could have made a difference in today’s game.
Oh well!
Fiala, Kuzmenko and Mallot too.
Zero shame for mr. simple minded.
Yup, totally the same – good grief.
No the officials would have found a way to ruin the game anyway.
There was a lack of offensive finishers available, for sure.
Certainly Drai and Hyman. Lack of scorers and puck skill without them.
And Drai’s ability to win face offs is sorely missing.
Pretty much the same as LA missing the skill of Mallot…. Hmm
For the first half of the game I thought reffing was terrible then I heard it was Sutherland and knew it would continue to be awful. It is so painful to watch the crap that Connor has to deal with and then he takes a penalty. I would be cross checking guys in the face and screaming at the ref constantly if I was him. It must take every ounce of self control to not lose it with this bush league reffing that enables the less skilled teams to hook clutch grab and crosscheck their way into games.
I hate the way LA plays the game. It’s like Florida light. Makes the eyes hurt and the ref’s enable them. The Oilers, even short handed by injury, were much better and deserving of a win or at least a tie. And I hate blaming the referee’s. Good news is they played well, found some chemistry between Dach and Freddie and Ingram showed very well
What do you do when you live in a shoe?
Yup put a heal on it and make it a high rise. Good dad joke
Get Odor Eaters.
Move to a boot and get laced
This is the correct answer.
Cheers.
Nothing like seeing the ref give Doughty a pat on the back at the final buzzer.
Get ready boys and girls this is the type of officiating that will go on in the playoffs too. Inconsistent and embarrassing.
If you are going to let things go, then let it go.
the center ice interference on 97 then call that penalty on him
tripped in the corner at the end.
I would rather watch my Godson play in his junior games.
Game management JOKE…
lol… yes i am annoyed! haha
That was brutal officiating. Inexcusable
Don’t think they got a shot on goal with the goalie pulled for 2 and a half minutes. Brutal
I think they lost every face-off – like seven of them.
Drai would have made a big difference in this game.
Well, I guess you can turtle for almost an entire game and still win.
With certain reffing, yes.
I didn’t realize it was Sutherland until the game was done. He’s had it in for the Oilers since the “check the review” dig by 97 all those years ago.
That was Steve Kozari.
So over 2 minutes of 6 on 5 and zero shots on net.
No hook there?
I don’t care if you call McDavid on those obvious ones like the one they called on him earlier. But then at least call *some* of the obvious ones like the trip just now and at least a handful of others today.
Word is the refs are reffing the beer league game after the oilers game. Had to get it finished to be on time.
What does LA need to do to get a penalty, pull out a crossbow?
Major surgery, open heart – Tim McCracken
another call missed or let go on 97
f
I sure get tired of the Oilers playing around the perimeter working to get the puck back to point for either a blocked shot or an unscreened shot on net.
They love calling penalties on Connor. Best player in a generation, and still has to eat shit almost every shift. I thought the (stupid) narrative was he’d get his respect after he earned it. Dude is 29. Stupid NHL tropes.
Exactly
Ive wondered if he’s still paying for pointing to the video review. If so, even more thin-skinned, childish and unserious from the league
Kelly Sutherland is the main character, right?
This is the type of officiating when I turn off the game..
its a flippin joke and disgrace
FU nhl.
I would call it unbelievable but lordy… its ongoing
i would say I hope 97 calls out them out but that only works against him
no wonder why he is frustrated
what a bush league
Yeah, I won’t blame him when he joins one of Gary’s teams. No one else stands up to this bs. Why should he?
flippin embarrassment…
An insane call to make with 5 left after everything let go this game.
What a f###ing joke. Disgusting
Crap like that makes me want to turn off the game.
.
The officials putting their whistles away only benefits LA.
And now they penalize McDavid?????
AGAIN????
I’ve suggested the league define a set of game management states, that the refs indicate the state they are in, and that the broadcasts post the current state, so everyone (players and fans) can understand what it is and importantly when it changes. This is only partly a joke. Because the states are entirely arbitrary and fleeting.
Well this worked once before, the Oilers need a greasy goal
Games like this really drive home the importance of enjoying and not underselling the games that McDavid goes supernova.
Frustratingly limited traffic in front of the net since early in the 2nd. They have a bunch of talent out and they’re playing a very veteran team that limits clean chances. Get messy in there and muck up the crease. Get the ugliest goal of the year.
And Louie just agreed.
Defensive shell going on 30+ minutes by the Kings….
It would be sweet to win this game. Then post a team picture on the Oiler Twitter. To Ken and team, a night to remember.
Both goaltenders playing exceptionally well in an otherwise evenly played game. Big third period for the Oil coming up.
Very well summarized CB
Man Doughty looks old and slow. Will be always be an a-hole and why was he on Team Canada again? Oh yeah experienced argh