Edmonton Oilers: New Year, New Characters, Same Storyline

Although the writer's strike did come to end, try telling that to the Oilers' faithful. Hasn't this storyline been written before?

As the regular season draws to a thrilling close on the Oilers’ 28th NHL campaign, Edmonton fans find their team in a familiar position: On the outside looking in.

However, with the exception of 2007 (which is a story best forgotten for those residing in oil country), the never-say-die attitude that seems to exude from the Oilers' crest has also taken its rightful place in this tale.

With the second-to-last meeting against the Colorado Avalanche done, the Oilers now find themselves within three points of the final playoff spot in the West. This is due to a solid 14-5-0 home record since January 1, and, more importantly, an 8-3-0 overall record in March.

Rewind to 2005-2006, and fans will quickly remember the Oilers’ stretch run of 7-4-0-1 to close out the year and squeak their way into the coveted second season by clinching eighth spot just ahead of the Vancouver Canucks.

Go a little further back on the tape and they'll remember the sour-taste left after a gritty 7-2-0-1 finish to the 2003-2004 season, which left them two points out of eighth as Nashville and St. Louis remained just out of reach. In the 2001-2002, the Oil once again fell short by just two points despite a 6-2-1-1 finale, losing out to the Canucks who bested them with a 8-1-1 miracle.

How this story unfolds is yet to be determined, but history may have very little to do with the mindset of this year's Reebok-clad group.

There are just four Oilers remaining from the ’01-02 season, only two of which are healthy enough to be on the ice. Only eight remain from ’03-04, five of which played today, and incredibly, only eight players in today's lineup wore Oilers crests in ’05-06. Instead, the Oil will finish up this stretch drive with five active rookies, and 13 skaters under the age of 25.

The '07-08 edition has included, a nail-biting three straight overtime wins in March, which led to Oilers rookie, Andrew Cogliano packing up his stick and gloves in a package addressed "Hall of Fame," a 2-1 shoot-out win to end the San Jose Sharks’ amazing 11 game win-streak, and the emergence of Edmonton's new chosen one, Sam Gagner, who's tallied 10 goals and 18 assists in the 23 games.

Oiler fans are clinging to the edge of their seats awaiting the conclusion to this year's action-thriller.

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