Author: Stephen Vani

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

Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

First, I’ll recap a trade that happened before Monday night’s game. The Edmonton Oilers acquired prospect defenseman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for prospect defenseman Ben Gleason. It was pretty much an AHL move, but it doesn’t hurt to have another right-handed blue liner in the system. We’ll see how it turns […]

Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

I liked that Battle of Alberta better than the first one. Leon Draisaitl has had two consecutive 3 point games. For all the talk from outside the Oilers fanbase that he can only get points on the powerplay or his stardom is only a product of Connor McDavid, he has historically performed well in the […]

Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

That was a fun Halloween night of hockey. Leon Draisaitl once again went trick-or-treating on the Predators with another productive game against them. Viktor Arvidsson and Zach Hyman finally scored their first goals of the season. Their struggles to put the puck in the net haven’t been for the lack of trying or signs of […]

Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

Unlike pregame articles in the past, this one will exclude a recap of the previous game. Not because it was a really bad loss, as I’ve never shied away from writing about ugly Oilers hockey. Related Post: Connor McDavid Leaves Game With Injury; Returns to Edmonton for Evaluation The team announced that Connor McDavid is […]

Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

Leon Draisaitl had himself a nice birthday, didn’t he? #29 had his best game of the season so far on his 29th birthday. He scored a tying goal, assisted on a tying goal, and scored the winning goal in Overtime. Per a tweet from the Sportsnet Twitter account, he is the 11th player in NHL […]

Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

A shutout? I mean, a shutout. After the first period, every Oilers fan started fearing that Pittsburgh’s goaltender Joel Blomqvist would get the shutout instead. There’s always something about backup/third-string goalies who look like Vezina trophy winners whenever they play against Edmonton. Stuart Skinner, as referenced, had a great night in net. He didn’t face […]

Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

The only old habit we didn’t revisit before Tuesday night resurfaced on Tuesday night. You have a 2 goal lead after two periods? Connor McDavid scored both goals? Life was pretty decent until the third period happened. For all the criticism Stuart Skinner has gotten(rightfully so), you can’t possibly pin the loss to the Hurricanes […]

Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

Going 1-1 on a road trip is better than going 0-2. Up until the third period on Saturday, the Oilers didn’t play a terrible game against the Stars. It was really just the powerplay goal they allowed in the last minute of the second period that might’ve deflated them. Edmonton’s penalty kill is so bad […]

Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

Two wins in a row? What’s going on here? Last season, it took Edmonton until the end of October to get their second win. It was also technically their first home win, but it was played in Commonwealth Stadium, not in their actual NHL rink. The Oilers got both their first home and road wins […]

Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

They finally played the first La Bamba, and everybody rejoiced. That was a pretty nerve-wracking way to get the first win of the season, but we’ll take it. It was a weird game as far as officiating was concerned. Both teams scored at least one goal that shouldn’t have counted. Congrats to Matvey Mitchkov for […]