Oilers contribute to Stars franchise record in mistake-filled 5-0 loss in Dallas

I wrote it in the GDB, and I’ll say it again here: I despise the Dallas Stars. They’re one of those teams that hurt me early in my Oilers fandom, and I will never forget all of those seasons that ended earlier than we would have liked because the Stars knocked Edmonton out of the playoffs. All these years later, the wound still feels fresh any time I see their logo on the schedule. Unfortunately, last night’s dreadful 5-0 result won’t offer much in the way of relief.

TOUGH TO WIN WHEN YOU DON’T SCORE

Listen, I admit that I’m no mathematician, but I’m pretty sure it’s nearly impossible to win hockey games if you don’t score any goals. I’m going to check the NHL rulebook again to confirm, but I’m 95% sure that I’m right. That makes the fact that the Oilers got shut out in Dallas in a game that was supposed to be a measuring stick matchup is *checks notes* less than ideal.

This was supposed to be an opportunity for the Oilers to show that they can hang with anyone in the Western Conference, and unfortunately, they failed miserably. Instead of making a statement that you don’t want to face the Oilers in the playoffs, they probably left those fans in Dallas feeling better than ever about their chances. While that may be cool for them, results like this don’t exactly inspire confidence around here.

SIX MINUTES OF HORROR

It’s amazing how little time it took for this game to go from a one-goal nail-biter to a complete blowout in Dallas’ favour. In just under six minutes, the Oilers went from being down by a single goal and very much in the mix to being down by five and nowhere close to competing. This thing went from game on to game over in a flash.

It was the kind of stretch that was not only game killing but was also completely demoralizing. You could almost see the Oilers’ collective confidence shrinking a little bit more as each of the four goals went in. That’s not a great spot to be for a team that’s supposed to have Stanley Cup aspirations because teams like the Stars are the exact clubs you’d have to get through to make the finals in the first place.

It goes without saying that it was only one game and the boys can surely rebound, but it was also extremely disheartening to watch them get bulled over without offering much of a response. Remember that scene in the Simpsons when Nelson was making Milhouse punch himself in the face? It was kinda like that.

HELPING WITH A STARS FRANCHISE RECORD

I’ve talked about how I cannot stand the Dallas Stars multiple times already, so I don’t have to rehash the whole thing again here, but what I will say is that they’ve given me another dose of trauma when I found out last night’s win set a franchise record. As If I needed another reason to be irritated by Dallas’ entire existence, but that’s what we got handed on Wednesday night.

Instead of being the ones to end the Stars’ heater, the Oilers ended up being victim number eight and the ones to give Dallas a new record for most wins in a row. It’s one thing to lose a game to a good team, but it’s another to get completely demolished and end up as a trivia question. As far as combos go, this one stinks about as bad as it gets.

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