Author: Stephen Vani

Oilers fan in Toronto. Staying up past my bedtime for Western games since the mid 2000s.

NHL Playoffs: Edmonton Oilers vs. Vancouver Canucks | Round 2, Game 3 | 05/12/2024

“Game Time Decision” Of course, Leon Draisaitl was going to play in Game 2. Hockey is a magical sport where athletes pretend that they’re not injured. He scored on the powerplay, added 3 assists, and even took a face-off on a penalty kill. Did any of that look like a hurting player to you? All […]

NHL Playoffs: Edmonton Oilers vs. Vancouver Canucks | Round 2, Game 2 | 05/10/2024

They pulled a Dallas. On Wednesday night, the Edmonton Oilers did their best Dallas Stars impression and opened the second round by blowing a 3 goal lead in Game 1 against the Vancouver Canucks. It’s only the first game; you have to win four, and every series is long. But that loss still stings pretty […]

NHL Playoffs: Edmonton Oilers vs. Vancouver Canucks | Round 2, Game 1 | 05/08/2024

Welcome back, friends. A whole week without Playoff hockey was torture, but at least we will see more of it. The Edmonton Oilers go from playing against a team that had more success with a defensive system, to now playing against a team fairly similar to them in terms of playing style. There is a […]

Connor McDavid Nominated For League MVP

“McHart” strikes again. A day before the Edmonton Oilers kick off their second-round match-up against the Vancouver Canucks, Oilers captain Connor McDavid is a Hart trophy nominee for the fourth year in a row and for the sixth time in his NHL career. Having previously won the award for Most Valuable Player in 2017, 2021, […]

NHL Playoffs: Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings | Round 1, Game 5 | 05/01/2024

Let April 28th 2024 be remembered as the day the Edmonton Oilers won a Playoff game by the score of 1-0. Yes, the dreaded boring and low-scoring game that you sometimes need to win in order to have Playoff success. But it wasn’t boring for Los Angeles, they played like a team that was desperate. […]

Bakersfield Condors goaltender #36 Jack Campbell and defenseman #5 Philip Broberg

NHL Playoffs: Edmonton Oilers Recall Broberg and Campbell

A couple of hours before Game 4 against the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday night, the Edmonton Oilers recalled 22 year old defenseman Philip Broberg and 32 year old goaltender Jack Campbell from the American Hockey League after their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, were eliminated from the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs. Coincidentally, they played […]

NHL Playoffs: Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings | Round 1, Game 4 | 04/28/2024

Game 3 was the type of game we need to see from Evander Kane on a more consistent basis. He made a nifty setup for a goal; he was a net-front presence for a goal of his own, he held his own physically and got into a scrap. When you’re as streaky a player as […]

NHL Playoffs: Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings | Round 1, Game 3 | 04/26/2024

In just his third career Playoff game, Dylan Holloway came up huge. His first Playoff appearance before Wednesday night was in Game 4 against the Colorado Avalanche in the 2022 Western Conference Finals. Evander Kane was suspended for Game 4, and the Oilers were down 3-0; there was nothing to lose with that call-up. This […]

NHL Playoffs: Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings | Round 1, Game 2 | 04/24/2024

The unthinkable thing happened: the Oilers won the opening game of a series. Edmonton has won their last two first rounds after a Game 1 loss against the same team, so it wouldn’t have been the end of the world if they lost again. But it’s also nice to get the first lead and not […]

NHL Playoffs: Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings | Round 1, Game 1 | 04/22/2024

Expectations for Edmonton’s last game of the regular season were low. Colorado had a dress rehearsal, having all of their namable players in the line-up except Alex Georgiev. The Oilers had Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, Evan Bouchard, and Mattias Ekholm as healthy scratches. Even in a nothing game, I’d have been […]