Oilers @ Wild

This is an excellent picture. It looks like James Sheppard is trying to choke Ladislav Smid to death, but I'm pretty sure the fight was a pretty good draw.

You can see that fight again here.

The Oilers are currently in 7th place in the Western Conference, and the standings look like this.

1. Detroit Red Wings - 105 pts 72 GP*
   
2. San Jose Sharks - 104 pts 71 GP*
   
3. Calgary Flames - 88 pts 71 GP
   
4. Chicago Blackhawks - 85 pts 70 GP
   
5. Vancouver Canucks - 85 pts 71 GP
   
6. Columbus Blue Jackets - 82 pts 72 GP
   
7. Edmonton Oilers - 79 pts 71 GP
   
8. Nashville Predators - 77 pts 72 GP
9. St Louis Blues - 75 pts 72 GP
10. Anaheim Ducks - 74 pts 71 GP
11. Minnesota Wild - 74 pts 71 GP
12. Dallas Stars - 74 pts 72 GP
13. Los Angeles Kings - 70 pts 71 GP
14. Phoenix Coyotes - 67 pts 72 GP**
    
15. Colorado Avalanche - 64 pts 72 GP**

* - Clinched Playoff Spot.
** - Likely Out of Playoff Picture.
Bolded - In Action Tonight.
Bolded and Italicized - In Action Tonight and Could Move Up in the Standings.

The Oilers will be in 7th place no matter what happens in the games tonight, but a win could cement us further into the playoff picture. If the team reverts back to its old snake-bitten self then there's no telling whether we make the playoffs or not. At this point we'd be matched up against San Jose, which could or couldn't be a good thing depending on which team of the Oilers shows up. If my memory of the Oilers in playoffs, which is not much, is the norm then I'd say the Oilers and this emotional city of ours would give them a run for their money.

Gagner continued his hot hand last game, which was a gooder I must say, netting his fourth goal in two games and his fifth in his last 6. He's also on a point scoring streak of 6 games with 9 pts in that span. The second line as a whole is showing up to games with fire in their pants, and this helps take the pressure off of the first line, which just isn't getting it done.

I'm cautious to put too much blame or emphasis on Hemsky's dry-spell here, because he has been making plays that should've been goals had the player on the receiving end been paying attention or been able to get a quick shot off. Horcoff seems to be off of his groove as far as quick shots go, he misses more than he hits, and the one's he hits miss more often than not. O'Sullivan and Hemsky look like they might be perfect for each other, or as perfect as we can hope for at this point, and I think once one of their plays nets one we won't need to worry about that first line any longer; we all saw Hemmer break out in that Philadelphia game, and then again after his concussion. Some bounces just need to go their way I think.

Any way, if we win tonight it means great celebrations in Edmonton, and a tie of our season-high win streak. If we lose we still remain in 7th place but it could rekindle doubts about this team's ability to be consistent.

As Always: Go Oilers Go!