The Seven Man March

Bobby Roy

Y’all Whiners

With the Oilers season going down the drain it looks like Oiler fans are getting frustrated and angry as usual when it comes to this time of the year. This year it seems like even more Oiler fans are angry, disappointed, frustrated… ya da ya da ya da. I could go on all day about what is wrong with the Oilers, but instead I’m going to gripe about how some Oiler fans are making Edmonton look like a terrible hockey city.

Oilers head coach MacTavish is the main reason Oiler fans are so perturbed. He has been the Oilers coach since the 1999-2000 season and for some it’s time for him to go. I’m going to have to agree with most Oiler fans when I say there is a need for a change in the locker room. Some people say its not the coach that should take the blame for how the team performs, but being a good coach involves motivating and pushing your players. MacT just isn’t doing that anymore, but the way some so called ‘Oiler fans’ are handling the situation is pretty embarrassing.

Facebook Groups

Facebook has revolutionized the way we can express our love and hatred for something, and in the case of MacT its the hatred. When you search up ‘Fire MacTavish’ on Facebook 14 different groups show up expressing such titles as “The Official Fire MacTavish Rally” “Fire MacT!” “Hire Pat Quinn as head coach”. One of the groups has almost 12,000 members in it. This past Sunday there was supposed to be a rally to fire MacTavish at Rexall, and there is even a group in which it stated over fifty people were supposedly going to attend.

Obviously it is quite childish to think a rally to fire a head coach of hockey team would actually work, but 7, yes 7 “Oiler fans” decided to show up at Rexall allowing the rest of Canada and other hockey fans have a good hearty laugh about how pathetic this is. I’m not saying that it was pathetic that only 7 people showed up, but that anyone showed up at all. Was a rally really going to accomplish something? Absolutely not. Do you think Kevin Lowe and the rest of the management were praying that this rally wasn’t going to happen? I’m sure the thought barely crossed their minds.

How bad do you think these 7 fans felt when they showed up to Rexall on Sunday and actually thought something was going to be accomplished? I know I laughed a little when I saw this story on sportsnet. It’s good that Oiler fans care this much about hockey, but it’s just embarrassing to see something like this happen in our city much like the Whyte Ave riots during the Oilers playoff run. I know that there are tons of die hard Oiler fans here in Edmonton and across the country, and I agree that MacT should be fired, but there are other ways to voice one’s opinion.

Constructive criticism on radio shows, emails, letters, and on blogs are all good ways to show one’s displeasure with the coach, but the statements made need to be intelligent and have reasons to back up what one is saying. These are the ways to get to Kevin Lowe and management even though it may seem like the fans have no say. Fans pay the money and support the team, so they definitely have some say.

It’s been hard enough for the Oilers these past couple years to attract good talent into Edmonton, and this past Sunday’s 7 man march shenanigan isn’t helping Edmonton and it’s hockey fans smooth out their image.

Glimmer of Hope

Bobby Roy

Sam Gagner slips the puck past Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo during the third period of Oilers-Canucks at Rexall Place on Saturday, April 4, 2009. The Oilers won 5-3. (Photo by Andy Devlin/Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club)

Not Done Yet

The Oilers were able to keep their faint playoff hopes alive with a 5-3 win against the Canucks at home on Saturday night. This is their first win during their current 6 game homestand. With the win the Oilers still sit in 11th place as of Monday morning, 3 points behind the 8th place Preds and 5 behind the 7th place Ducks.

The Oilers finally got off to the quick start they needed against the Canucks with Kotalik scoring just twenty-seven seconds into the first period.

Once again Dwayne Roloson was the star of the game for Oilers as he ended up with 46 shots against him Saturday night. The Oilers built up a 2-0 lead by the end of the second period, but were barely able to hold onto the win by the end.

Quick Strike

Ales Kotalik scored just twenty-seven seconds into the first period giving the Oilers a rare quick start that they have lacked in most of the games this season.

Both teams exchanged powerplays in the period, but neither team was able to take advantage of the man advantages.

Somewhat Positive

The second period has usually been the problem period for the Oilers, but the Oilers were able to get through this second period by not only scoring but not allowing the Canucks to score at all.

At the 8:14 mark of the second Denis Grebeshkov wristed one past Luongo to give the Oilers a 2-0 lead. Although the Oilers were able to get through the period it was much in thanks to Dwayne Roloson, who stopped all 22 shots that the Canucks put his way.

The Oilers were only able to muster 8 shots toward Luongo.

Crazy Third

The third period was marked with the flood gates opening up at Rexall. Just over 6 minutes into the third period the scoring began.

Vancouver’s Mason scored at the 6:51 mark of the third to cut the Oilers lead in half. Gagner then answered at 10:28 for the Oilers to increase the Oilers lead to 4-2.

The teams then traded goals for the rest of the period leaving the Oilers with a 5-3 victory.

Need a Miracle

Even after an iffy win like this one over Vancouver the Oilers will need to play better if they are going to win out for the rest of the season.

They cannot continue to hope Roloson will win the game for them. They’re are going to need a lot of help from teams playing Nashville or the Blues and it just doesn’t seem like it’s going happen with those teams playing the way they are.

The Blues have a terribly easy schedule to finish up the season and the odds aren’t good on them losing more than half their remaining games. The Preds have a tough schedule to finish up the year, but they would only need to win 2 of 4 to clinch a spot.

The countdown to see the Oilers miss the playoffs is on. It will cap off yet another disappointing end to a season that had so much promise when it started. Keep the hope going Oiler fans because the flame is about to go out unless some sort of hockey miracle is going to shine down on the Oilers.

Next Up

The Oilers will play the Kings Tuesday night in hopes they can take advantage of a team already out of the playoff hunt, but the Oilers have had trouble against lower teams so don’t count on this one being easy. The game is at 7pm at Rexall and will be featured on PPV.