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If there is any good to be taken out of the worst start in Edmonton Oilers franchise history, it is this: In no other world would the 12th game of the season against a 1-10-1 opponent provide this much drama.
In no other world would the two worst teams in the NHL playing a Thursday night game in San Jose be this significant.
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Drama? The War For The Floor might be the biggest game of Edmonton’s entire season. The stakes are enormous.
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If the Oilers have to crawl out of San Jose on the wrong end of this thing, all bets are off. A body count that currently stands at one — Jack Campbell being sent to the American Hockey League the day after Stuart Skinner let in six goals (in case you were wondering how the goaltending is going) — is sure to mount.
If head coach Jay Woodcroft is truly in the crosshairs of either General Manager Ken Holland, CEO of Hockey Operations Jeff Jackson, owner Daryl Katz or any combination of the three, losing to San Jose will certainly apply some itch to whoever’s finger is on the trigger.
And who knows what the collateral damage might be if they hit rock bottom on Thursday? You never want to think a team with this much talent could be 60 minutes from upheaval, but the fear is real.
A loss will cut a pretty wide swath through the room, too. Lose this game and the positive vibes the Oilers have been trying to nurture amid the mounting defeats will be crushed.
You don’t get on the bus at 2-9-1, having just lost to a 1-10-1 opponent and find inspiration in your high-danger chances. You don’t lose this game, look around the dressing room and pretend your team isn’t broken.
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Quit being so dramatic, there’s no way they are going to lose this game, you say? Campbell being sent down and the ensuing firestorm will have them playing guilty, you say? And San Jose, who lost 10-1 and 10-2 last week, might be one of the worst teams in NHL history — a history that includes some pretty horrendous expansion teams and the Draft Lottery Dynasty Oilers — you say?
No way the Oilers lose, you say?
Well, there was no way the Oilers lose the home-ice rematch with Vancouver after losing the season-opener 8-1. There was no way the Oilers lose at home to Nashville when they needed a win so badly. No way they lose at home to Dallas after all the things they said following the loss to Nashville.
And it is also a little unnerving that the guys who are 1-10-1 are actually the hotter of the two clubs. San Jose is coming off a win over Philadelphia while the Oilers are heading in the wrong direction, having lost their last three games 4-3, 5-2 and 6-2.
It’s insane to think that a team considered by many, including itself, to be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender is now reduced to having to prove itself against the last place team in the league. But that’s what we’re looking at.
This is as low as the bar is going to get.
If they can’t clear this one, all bets are off.
You wanted drama? Here it comes.
E-mail:Â rtychkowski@postmedia.com
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