Edmonton Oilers 4 Game Winning Streak Snapped; Oil Kings Losing Streak Extend to 4; Acquire Jung

Edmonton Oilers 4 Game Winning Streak Snapped

The last time the Oilers won 5 in a row to start the season, the man pictured above was playing the role played by Steve MacIntyre today. Alas, the day when it happens again will have to wait for another season. Back then, I was not yet even born and the Oilers were in the height of their young dynasty. That was an elite team that dominated.

Our modern Oilers team, though 4-1, has won by a combination of luck and good goaltending. Some may find that Roloson was a bit rusty. Others will point to the fact that he made 27 saves. Who's to point the finger anyway? Getting shutout is a matter of lack of offense, not exactly Roloson's area of expertise. The Oilers are good now, but not great yet.

30 years changes a lot, but the game of hockey, despite new CBAs and new NHL's and all sorts of weird marketing campaigns, has not essentially changed. What was important in the first decade of Oilers hockey is equally important in its third: team chemistry and overall consistency are still indicators of an elite level team.

The Edmonton Oilers have to get a lot better to reach that elite level - but elements of that kind of team chemistry is all that is missing. All the parts to be a very good NHL team are already here or can be easily acquired with what we have, the only remaining considerations being the next year's salary cap.

Among some of the questions we need to address:

a) What's going to happen with Roloson and DesLauriers? How many games should for Garon should that translate into?
b) Is Pisani going to stay in the C position all year? Or are do the Oilers have plans to acquire a veteran centerman?
c) What are the chances of Cole resigning long term? How long of a term should that be?
d) Consistency: we've acquired talent, got younger, got tougher - but we're still struggling to play consitently, even though we still have a winning record. Winning records at the beginning of the year can mask potential problems down the road, however. (I remember one season the Oilers started October at the top of the NW division and then subsequently failed to make the playoffs. Correct me if I am wrong).

Check out this quote:

1011011 Says:
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:50 pm

Standby for fluff.

Principe “Are you happy with the start?”

Smid: “Coach says give it 100% at all times”

Classic.

Here's a follow up on PunjabiOil's article:



Oil Kings Losing Streak Extend to 4; Acquire Jung

The Edmonton Oil Kings acquired Torrie Jung from the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a 6th round pick. This is the second time Jung has been traded this week, as he was acquired from the Kelowna Rockets by Lethbridge also for a 6th round pick. Details here.

Jung sat on the bench and backed up Cam Lanigan tonight as the Oil Kings extended their losing streak to 4, in a 2-0 loss. The Oil Kings have lost by scores of 7-5, 6-3, 7-2, and 2-0 over the stretch of the 4 games. It seemed obvious to some that they needed to upgrade their goaltending. Torrie Jung is a 7th round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have a bit of trouble with acquiring or drafting goaltending themselves...

Will Torrie Jung help this ailing Oil Kings squad? His statistics would not suggest this to be the case, but this is not a judgment on his skills in any way. On an Oil Kings team that mustered 10 shots in a 2-0 loss, goaltending has proven to be the least of their concerns. I suddenly feel a world of sympathy for Cam Lanigan.

Quiz: Name two competent goalies not named Nikolai or Darren who have played for the Tampa Bay Lightning.