Oilers vow to not give up
Despite dismal record, team aims to ‘play hard no matter what the circumstances are’
Not even a handful of days away could change the cold, hard facts awaiting the Edmonton Oilers when they returned to Rexall Place on Monday.
The Oilers have 33 games remaining, starting with a visit from the Colorado Avalanche tonight. They are so far back of the Western Conference playoff pack that they would have to win 25 of those games to make the playoffs — presuming they also get three overtime points and that 94 ends up being the cutoff mark.
So the task has become less daunting. The Oilers have instead set their sights on catching the 28th-place Anaheim Ducks.
“Obviously, we’re in a tough spot right now, but we just need to play as hard as we can, show that we’re a team that won’t quit,” said defenceman Ryan Whitney after the team’s first post-all-star break practice.
“You want to show that you’re going to play hard no matter what the circumstances. We want to make sure we do that. We are in a tough position, but we can try and catch the team in front of us, then go from there.”
The Oilers went into the break having collected three points in their last two games, but they still haven’t won back-to-back games since Nov. 22 and Nov. 25.
There should be marked improvement on the ice with rookie centre Ryan Nugent-hopkins set to return soon, along with defencemen Cam Barker and Tom Gilbert.
But the look of the team is expected to change again on NHL trade deadline day.
Given their 29th-place standing, the Oilers will be sellers on Feb. 27, particularly with wingers Ales Hemsky and Ryan Smyth, along with defenceman Andy Sutton, who are destined for unrestricted free agency on July 1.
“I can’t stand in front of you and dress up a tough year; it’s been difficult again for all kinds of reasons,” said head coach Tom Renney. “I’m not going tell you we’ve worked hard every single game ... but I can tell you we have, for the most part, laid it on the line and done everything we could with good intentions.
“We didn’t get what we wanted against Vancouver (in a shootout loss in the last game before the all-star break), but we have to stay to that level of commitment and intensity and battle and execution. If we do that, we’ll win more than we lose down the stretch.”
The Oilers host the Avs, Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings this week before rolling out on the road to play the Toronto Maple Leafs, Red Wings and Ottawa Senators.
“We’re not going to quit. We’re not going to give up on the season,” said sophomore winger Taylor Hall. “We’re excited to have a fresh start, a fresh mindset.”
“We have 33 games to salvage things,” Sam Gagner said, “and we’ve had a break to get that renewed energy. We have to make sure we’re growing as a team in these next 33 games.”