Oilers knocking on the door

I have to get in a quick word about my Edmonton Oilers - this bunch of guys are truly the cardiac kids of the NHL. It really is great fun to watch such a young team come to life and mature before my eyes.

Last night's second goal by Andrew Cogliano was a nice one, and it was set up from a nifty pass by Sam Gagner. Get used to hearing the name Gagner, who right now if the youngest player in the NHL at a spry 18 years old. For those of you who don't follow the NHL, calling Gagner the Kobe Bryant or the LeBron James of the NHL is really not a stretch; he doesn't even turn 19 until after the season in August.

With the likes of Cogliano, Gagner, the über-talented Aleš Hemský and lots of great talent on defense, this team is loaded for bear. What I'm really happy about is that the Oilers are finally owned by someone with deep pockets, so the team will be able to keep a player of Gagner's talent without losing him to spend-happy teams like the Rangers and Flyers.

Right now, the Oilers are three points out of a playoff spot, so I'm not holding my breath, but they do have a real shot to make the postseason with games coming up against Minnesota tomorrow, Calgary and Colorado. By this time next week, their fate should be determined. I'll never forget seeing them in the Cup Finals in '06 - what a wild ride it was - I can't wait for it to happen again. With all of the young stars wearing Oiler silks, it's gonna happen sooner rather than later.

Go Oilers!

All-time best hockey blooper... EVER!

Even if you are not a hockey fan, you MUST appreciate this.

Allow me to use blatant hyperbole for a moment - put simply, last night's game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Dallas Stars was the most entertaining point I've ever seen the Oilers earn, EVER, and that's saying something. To put that in perspective, I've been a fan of the team since they came into the NHL in 1979, and I've watched hundreds of their games.

Let me set it up for you before you watch the video clip. The Oilers were up 4-1 in the second period, and, put simply, gassed what should have been an easy two points with the win. But, they didn't skate in the third, and Dallas took it to them, scoring five unanswered goals to take a 5-4 lead. Late in the third, Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish pulls Edmonton goalie Dwayne Roloson for the extra attacker.

With about 15 seconds left, Stars Center Patrik Stefan gained possession of the puck, skated to within 2 FEET OF THE OILERS EMPTY NET, and, with no Oiler in sight, slipped, fell, and turned the puck over to the Oilers.

Three passes later, Oiler Ales Hemsky scores with two seconds left to send the game to OT. The Oilers eventually lost in the shootout, but wow, what an entertaining game last night.

However, I dunno what was better, the last bizarre 30 seconds of the game, or the announcers' reaction to one of the craziest plays in NHL history. Here's a sampling of their reaction...

"He scores!!! Can...you...BELIEVE...what...we just SAW?!?!?"

"No adjective can properly describe..."

"How long will this be replayed?"

The best came from Oilers color commentator Ray Ferraro, who played for about two decades in the National Hockey League:

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Patrik Stefan, you should be embarrassed for what you just did. That does not belong in the National Hockey League. That's the most embarrassing thing I've seen on National Hockey League ice. I've been around the pro game, I dunno, 25 years, and that's unbelievable."

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Oh, and how frickin' cool is it that the NHL struck a deal with YouTube, and now every morning you can go to YouTube and see highlights of your favorite NHL team. Now that's cutting edge, and I don't believe any other major sports league has done it. Bravo, NHL.

Anyway, this one's gonna be replayed for years, if not decades to come.

What a night of hockey!

More on the NHL in a bit.

Oil boils for 6!

What a night for my hockey team. Edmonton may very well start a new TV series this season - The NHL's I Love the 80's, because the Oilers certainly looked like the 80's version of the franchise, when they would just try to outscore opponents with lots of offense.

What a stunner this game was.

Edmonton goes up 1-0. Okay, cool, I thought. It's always good to get the first goal in your own barn - it gets the crowd excited and revs up the players.

About 25 minutes of hockey time later, the Oilers were down 4-1 on the heels of Jonathan Cheecho's natural hat trick and four unanswered goals by the Sharks. Oh Christ, I thought- not a good week; first the Cowboys, now the Oilers.

But, I'm glad I stuck with the game while I did my work. Five Edmonton unanswered goals later, the Oilers Ryan Smyth (above, scoring his first of the night) snagged a natural hat trick of his own, scoring three in a span of 2:01, breaking Wayne Gretzky's previous team record by 17 seconds. Now that's a good night.

Of particular note is goal number six tonight by the Oilers. The New NHL made it possible - under the old rules, the play would have been a two-line pass, but that rule was eliminated before last season. Ya gotta just love Ales Hemsky comin' out of the box, homerun pass on his tape... SCORE!

I think tonight's game will be a reflection of this year's Oilers, but I hope not all season. The young defense will suffer lapses, but with an obscenely deep group of forwards, this team can flash hot, in a hurry. But, I'm sure Head Coach Craig MacTavish would rather have the team play a little more defense. It didn't help either team that the refs were panting from blowing their whistles tonight from calling a very tight game for a total of 15 penalties.

There's 79 more games to go, but I don't know if my heart can take it.

Pronger who? Joffrey Lupul, who came to Edmonton in the Pronger deal, got his second of the season tonight. So far, so good.

Go Oilers!

The Oilers win! The Oilers win! Helllllooooo round 2...

I'm still pinching myself after last night, when my Edmonton Oilers reached the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by knocking off the top team (during the regular season, anyway), the Detroit Red Wings.

And they did it in dramatic fashion. I expected the Oilers to come out in front of a truly crazed crowd on home ice and take control of the game early by scoring first, as they have in every other game in the series. But, it was not to be. At the end of one period, Detroit was up 1-0, and at the end of two it was 2-0. During the second period, the Wings were at their suffocating best, outshooting Edmonton 17-2. Yes, that's right, 17-2. After that disaster of a period, without question the Oil's worst of this playoffs, I let out a large *Sigh* and figured at least I'd be treated to a Game 7, which wouldn't be so bad. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, like a Game 7 in any round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Little did I know, I was in for one of the most memorable Oiler playoff games in their 27-year NHL history.

Not to put too fine a point on it - the Oilers came out to start the third and quickly showed the hockey world that they will be a team to be reckoned with, not only in this playoffs, but far into the future. Edmonton's youth, speed and energy were just too much for Detroit, but what really made the difference was one man - Dwayne Roloson. Roli the goalie really showed up for this series, and he was the difference. A close second in series MVP honors goes to Chris Pronger, who is proving once again that he is among the top defensemen in the NHL.

Anyway, by 6:40 into the third period, the Oil had tied it because of an Edmonton-born hero - Fernando Pisani. He scored twice, less than four minutes apart, to draw the Oilers even. However, Detroit's Johan Franzen put Detroit up 3-2 less than four minutes later with a very nice goal that Roli had no chance at. But there was plenty more heart stopping action to come.

Ales (Al-ISH) Hemsky evened the game with an awkward goal on the powerplay with less than four to go. The goal was reviewed, and after about six minutes of drama, the goal judges made the obvious and right call - that Hemsky hadn't kicked it in; the puck merely bounced off his chest and into the goal. Hey, whatever - the Oilers will take a few lucky ones, and I know I was happy. So, I settled into my chair thinking I was in for overtime, and I never complain about getting to see even more hockey. Both teams probably thought that's where the game was headed, too; games 1 and 3 of this series both went to double OT. With just over a minute to go, that's when The Play happened. Hemsky took the puck into the Detroit zone, left the puck for Sergei Samsanov, and then parked himself at the side of the net. One Samsanov picture-postcard pass later, the backbreaker - a Hemsky tap in (See Above). Goal, Game, Series, Pandemonium!

It's tough to overstate how crazy it was at Rexall Place in Edmonton. Click here to see video clips of it - they should remain on the Oil's homepage for a few days. I was jumping up and down, celebrating, whooping and hollering, all while wearing my now lucky Mark Messier #11 jersey. I had reason to celebrate - the Oilers haven't moved to the second round since 1998, and they haven't been to the conference finals since 1992. So, I'm hoping more droughts end this year, including the biggest Oiler drought of all - The Stanley Cup. It's been 16 long years - pictured below is the last time. Could this year the next time?

I believe.