Gotta catch 'em all

It's been a frustrating season in Edmonton to say the least. On paper, this franchise is as potent as it has been in the last 3 years since the takeover by Ontario-based private equity group led by GM Oily. Franchise goalie, strong two-way defense core, and a very admirable top 9 should make this team a force the rest of the way in the west; 'should' is the key word as fans are extremely anxious across Alberta. 

With just 17 games remaining in the regular season, Oilers find themselves fighting for their playoff lives. The losses have come far too often lately and to non-contenders on top of it. Sitting at just 79 points, they are far back of the rival division leaders Colorado, Florida, Columbus, and New Jersey. The hope with recent acquisitions Rasmus Andersson and Lawson Crouse is that they will shore up some of the cracks on forward and D. Starting off with a home loss to Buffalo was not the best sign though. The team was caught off guard by the young deadly Sabres team, but learned some valuable lessons.

The Division - nothing can be said or written without mentioning the Pacific. Some of the deadliest battles in World War 2 took place on the Pacific front, and RHL is seemingly trying to recreate it with six out of eight teams fighting for playoff spots. Which four end up making it remains to be seen, but if Oilers are not in that four, answers will be demanded.

As it stands the fight continues, and Oilers have increased on and off ice practice time. Management has a championship or bust mentality, so if this group does not perform, another will. These were the new lines observed in practice:

Kyrou - Stephenson - Miller
Analysis: Miller has begun to heat up after moving to RW, and Kyrou has asked for more opportunity so the pressure is on
Verhaeghe - Hertl - Tarasenko
Analysis: Hertl is the glue and needs to get the most out of Trashasenko, hopefully Carter can help provide the spark
Crouse - Strome - Sheary
Analysis: the team is counting heavy on Crouse to come in and stabilize the bottom 6 and provide depth scoring
Carrick - Grant
Analysis: eh

Theodore - Andersson
Analysis: deadly offensive dmen that have some defensive flaws, we ride or die with them at this point
Benning - Pelech
Analysis: have been stepping up in practice and different situations
Holden - Sanheim
Analysis: Sanheim is on thin ice with management and coach after his poor performances since getting acquired, 2 points in 16 games is not gonna cut it
Holl
Analysis: good backup in case Sanheim keeps shitting the bed

Vejmelka
Saros
Analysis: a major change in net for the next few games as the team is looking more and more at Karel Vejmelka as a viable option. Not only has Karel played well in relief duties, but he has also performed exceptionally in the alternate universe that our universe is connected to. 

Overall the hope is still there within the locker room. With some additional tweaks to the lineup and strategy, there is a strong belief that Oilers can win the Pacific, the West, and the RHL cup.