Author: Stephen Vani

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

NHL Game Preview: Edmonton Oilers vs. St. Louis Blues | 04/01/2024

Saturday afternoon was the second straight that the Oilers had their shutout bid broken in the last half of the third period. Of course, the wins are more important, but you sometimes like to see a donut beside a goalie’s stats card, especially in more than one game. What stood out most to me in […]

NHL Game Preview: Edmonton Oilers vs. Anaheim Ducks | 03/30/2024

Congrats to NHL referee Kyle Rehman for officiating his 1000th game on Thursday night. Leon Draisaitl gave him some congratulatory taps before the opening face-off, with the Sportsnet broadcast jokingly quipping that the sentimental would wear off right after the game started, and it did. Not that it matters anymore after your team wins by […]

Why The Hate For Zach Hyman?

Has there ever been a player who stirred up controversy just because he played a 50 goal season? Probably not until now. Zach Hyman reached the 50 goal milestone last weekend in a road game against the Ottawa Senators. He became the first free agent signee to do it since Jacques Richard scored 52 for […]

NHL Game Preview: Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings | 03/28/2024

The vibe for this article would be different if the Jets scored the game-winner on a late powerplay that they shouldn’t have gotten. Before I explain, just so I don’t sound that much like a homer, the Oilers had no business blowing that 2 goal lead in the third period. You’d think after killing off […]

NHL Game Preview: Edmonton Oilers vs. Winnipeg Jets | 03/26/2024

Worst. Weekend. Ever. We can’t celebrate Zach Hyman’s 50th goal without being reminded how bad this back-to-back was for the Edmonton Oilers. Try to rally back from 5 goals down in the third period on Saturday because they showed up too little too late. Then, take a multi-goal lead on Sunday, then the other team […]

NHL Game Recap: Edmonton Oilers vs. Ottawa Senators | 03/24/2024

Evander Kane was out of this game for a maintenance day, so Derek Ryan drew into the lineup. Calvin Pickard got the start for the Oilers after coming in relief of Stuart Skinner in Toronto the night before. Joonas Korpisalo started for Ottawa in New Jersey the night before; this was a back-to-back start for […]

Desharnais Played 100 Games

Saturday night was not a nice-looking game for the Edmonton Oilers, congrats are for defenseman Vincent Desharnais. He was picked 183rd overall in the 2016 NHL Draft, it took him until the age of 26 to become an NHL regular and he now just played his 100th NHL game. Quality right-handed defensemen, even just decent […]

NHL Game Preview: Edmonton Oilers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs | 03/23/2024

We knew the Oilers played their best hockey in third periods, but Thursday night’s third period was something else: Five unanswered goals, two of them by defensemen. Mattias Ekholm scored a pair, by the way. It was a fairly unexpected outcome after two periods since Edmonton wasn’t really playing their best hockey, and the Sabres […]

WHL Prospect Signs With Edmonton Oilers

A couple of hours before Thursday night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, the Edmonton Oilers signed 20-year-old undrafted forward prospect James Stefan to a three-year entry-level contract. A right winger, the Laguna Beach native has played 5 seasons in the WHL with the Portland Winterhawks, recording 254 points in 251 games. Of the 48 goals […]

NHL Game Preview: Edmonton Oilers vs. Buffalo Sabres | 03/21/2024

It’s not the cleanest way to win a hockey game, but Edmonton will take it. Give the Canadiens credit for battling back in the third period. They wanted to show a high level of effort for head coach Martin St. Louis, who recently needed to take an indefinite leave of absence to be with his […]