The Oilers are currently in last place in the Northwest Division, Western Conference, and entire NHL with 38 points based on their 16-28-6 record. Edmonton needed to go about 27-9-3 in their final 39 games to make the playoffs, but instead are in the middle of a ten game losing streak (0-8-2).

While Edmonton may not have much to cling to, some pretty strange things have happened in the history of the NHL, so hoping for a miracle is pretty much where the team and its fans will be hanging their hopes for the remainder of the season. The Oilers did make a miraculous run in the spring of 2006; during that run they were so hard to beat because things just began to click all of a sudden, as they put a tight-knit group of twenty on the ice. They will need to do something very similar this year if Edmonton wishes to recreate that magic.

In addition to leftwing Dustin Penner, who leads the team in points (43), goals (21), and assists (22), the Oilers will need increased firepower from the remaining scorers which round out Edmonton’s top six – center Sam Gagner (12 goals, 18 assists), defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky (9 goals, 20 assists), centers Patrick O’Sullivan (10 goals, 16 assists) and Gilbert Brule (11 goals, 13 assists), and rightwing Ales Hemsky (7 goals, 15 assists).

The goaltending will need to improve for the Oilers as well; number one, Jeff Deslauriers (9-14-3, 3.18 GAA, .896 save %) has not been impressive, and offseason acquisition Nikolai Khabibulin (7-9-2, 3.03 GAA, .909 save %) has not been able to recreate the magic he provided the Blackhawks, and which made him such an attractive acquisition in the first place. At least one of these two will need to heat up between the pipes if Edmonton is going to have any hope of turning things around in the second half.

This is a magnificent hockey town, and one with a storied NHL history. Get your tickets now, and be there for the rest of the season to support the Edmonton Oilers as they strive to make the Stanley Cup playoffs in March, or at the very least provide fans with some great hockey entertainment while trying.