Author: Stephen Vani

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

Oilers Game 28: Florida Panthers

Lose one after winning eight, and a lot of people lose their minds again. You’ve just got to love Oilers Twitter. But there’s still nothing wrong with analyzing why Thursday night’s game sums up the entire Oilers season thus far. It was probably one of the more entertaining losses I’ve ever sat through. Edmonton was […]

Oilers Game 27: Tampa Bay Lightning

I couldn’t even be mad when Connor Bedard opened the scoring on Tuesday night. Virtually no goalie in the league could’ve stopped his shot. It was a great pass from Alex Vlasic from his own zone to Bedard, waiting for the puck just over centre ice. I just feel bad for Evan Bouchard and Mattias […]

Oilers Game 26: Chicago Blackhawks

Out of all the players to get a goal called back, it had to be Connor Brown. We’ve been waiting two and a half months to see him score his first as an Oiler. We’re waiting to see him really get going while he has just one assist on the season, with his performance bonus […]

Oilers Game 25: New Jersey Devils

Of course, a six-game winning streak is great. But it’s also hilarious to say that Friday night was Edmonton’s first win when they have 40+ shots on goal. Marc-Andre Fleury was standing on his head the whole game, and the Oilers weren’t shooting down low. It’s a team game, and the defensive play led to […]

Oilers Game 24: Minnesota Wild

What a difference two weeks can make. The first meeting against Carolina signaled the end of the world in Edmonton. Down 4-0 after the first period in that game up 4-0 after the first period on Wednesday night’s game. There’s still a long way to go, but Oilers fans are in a much better mood […]

Oilers Game 23: Carolina Hurricanes

Did you miss watching Oilers games for a week? So did I. It feels good to be back, even with where Edmonton finds themselves in the standings. We’re a quarter of the way into the season; three quarters is still a pretty long time. Since last week Thursday, the St. Louis Blues hold the second […]

Oilers Game 22: Winnipeg Jets

Not the ideal way to win your third straight game, but they did it. Up until the last seven and a half minutes, when they blew a 4-2 lead, they were playing some pretty decent hockey. I don’t totally blame Stuart Skinner for the last two goals, but it makes the save percentage worse than […]

Oilers Game 21: Vegas Golden Knights

Well, Connor McDavid seems to be making a comeback. A four-point afternoon on Friday and a five-point night on Sunday enroute to an 8-2 victory over Anaheim. He became the second active player with four assists in back-to-back games along with Nicklas Backstrom in the 2007/2008 season. He’s also now the fourth Oiler after Wayne […]

Oilers Game 20: Anaheim Ducks

I genuinely feel bad for Oilers fans who had to work on Friday afternoon. Their win against the Capitals was the best and most complete game they’ve played so far this season, and it’s not because it was a 5-0 final score. Some people like to throw in the term “statement game” a lot. Some […]

Oilers Game 19: Washington Capitals

I hope that all of our American hockey fans and Inside The Rink readers had a happy Thanksgiving yesterday. I believe they have a lot to be thankful for. I am particularly cheering for teams that are not the Edmonton Oilers. In the Florida trip, they had two-goal leads that they couldn’t hang onto. Against […]