Desperation

Note: I just got back from Lotus Land where I was in the fine company of Beeg, Moi, Lubelly, Shaky and Ballzov. It explains the lack of posts (for me, at least). Thanks, Rob, for keeping the blog active.

What a game! I was on the edge of my seat for most of the night and the fact that it went to OT made me relish the fact that I don't have hair. What does this Oiler win mean for both teams involved?

As we'll surely read from most puck pundits tomorrow, "delaying the inevitable" will be a much-used phrase. It's hard to argue with that logic since, before tonight, the Oilers looked like they had hit the proverbial wall. They seemed tired and sluggish, like playing above their heads had finally caught up with them after thrre great playoff series.

For Oilers fans, however, there may be a glimmer of hope. Edmonton showed some flashes of offensive jump and they were very physical tonight. The Carolina defencemen took some serious hits tonight (and blocked lots of shots) and some of them look hurt. This may help the somewhat anaemic Oiler offence. Another positive is that Hemsky and Peca had a great game. A secondary scoring threat will do wonders for the Oilers.

Now, if the Oilers are to take game 6, they absolutely will have to playa much more disciplined game and work on their PK. That was their bread and butter in previous series and they have to get things in order. A better PP would also be nice, but that's just a pipe dream at this point.

Carolina will press hard on Wednesday and their forwards will be all over the net like a fat kid on a Smartie. The Canes defencemen will to be good as well, even if they're hurt.

As my old friend Murphy would say, this is gonna be good...no matter what.