If you are like me and somehow managed to watch this whole game from end to end, you are a trooper. As an Oilers fan this was a really tough game to find anything positive with and the outcome of this game is exactly what the Oilers deserved from their play.
The Toronto Maple Leafs came out ready to play tonight and capitalized on every error the Oilers made and in this game, the Oilers made a lot of mistakes. Mistakes that the Oilers made early in this game would sewer them into a playoff game just as they did tonight.
I thought about coming on here tonight and breaking down every goal and seeing where the Oilers made mistakes and how they need to be better moving forward, I am not going to do that. The reason is because I really hope that when the Oilers face the Ottawa Senators tomorrow they will come out and play a much better game than they did today.
The Edmonton Oilers have all but secured second place in the Pacific Division, but there is still hope that they can catch the Canucks. The hopes in LA are also that they can pass the Oilers, however unlikely that there is a possibility of them happening, all depending on how the Oilers play the rest of the season. If they play well they could pass Vancouver, if they play poorly LA could steal second place away.
There will not be much time for the Oilers to shake off this loss as they are facing the Ottawa Senators tomorrow evening. The Senators will be coming off a 5-2 win against the New Jersey Devil. This means there will be no advantage when it comes to rest, While the Oilers are a better team, that means nothing looking at this effort tonight, but the way the Oilers have played under Knoblauch I would pencil the Senators game as a win.