It is hard to not be excited with the “new” Edmonton Oilers, what with a new coaching staff, three brand-spanking new rookies oozing with talent and promise, and a renewed sense of excitement from veteran members of the team.
Hockey fans in Alberta have been waiting for last Thursday’s season opener game against the Calgary Flames, since it was announced that the Blue and Gold won the top pick – the first in the franchise’ history last April.
And the boys didn’t disappoint, winning 4 - 0 against a team with far more experience, and a top line consisting of NHL veterans Jarome Iginla, Olli Jokinen and Alex Tanguay, who showed so much promise pre-season but were overshadowed by the younger, less-experienced but more energetic Oilers for much of the game.
Even the most hardcore supporter of the Flames will agree that the team needs to go back to the drawing board after watching their team skate around like a bunch of NHL retirees, and had a sub-par game after just coming off an unbeaten 7 – 0 record in the pre-season.
As for supporters of the Oilers, it was indeed a night to remember as the team’s go-to goalie, Nikolai Khabibulin, had an excellent 42nd career shutout. The four goals by Shawn Horcoff (new Oilers’ Captain), Jordan Eberle (one of the new kids on the block who scored a beauty for his first NHL goal), Gilbert Brule (the $3.7 million-for-two-years centre), and Ales Hemsky (Oilers’ speedfreak) didn’t hurt either.
All in all, the new season for the Oilers will be anything but boring. I only hope that Thursday’s performance won’t be one of those once-in-a-blue-moon occurrences, and that the “new” Oilers will continue to dazzle and play as a team into the season and hopefully, have enough of a drive to gain a play-off spot.
Things just got more exciting in Oilers nation.
