Throwing a celebration and not sure who to invite? Want to guarantee the party is a raging success? Well, Google Edmontons zip code, because youre putting the Oilers on the guest list! Of course, its distinctly possible theyll just hang out in the hall and wait for the lights to come on. But give em a break. Theyre just dragging from being the life of so many parties recently. But donŐt worry, they dont eat much and theyve got nothing going on until at least October.
Down I-70 in St. Louis Sunday, the Oilers were once again the opponent in another NHL jersey retirement ceremony. It was the third time this season Edmonton had to sit through a pregame tear-fest on the road and play in front of an emotional opposing crowd. At least theyre good house guests (well, they had been, more on that later.) The Oils lost all three games, including Sundays 2-1 defeat in St. Louis.
All of it is really starting to wear on Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish. -The perfect guests. Again,- he griped after the loss to the Blues. -I wondered why theyd pick us to retire Al MacInnis jersey. Missed opportunities, broken sticks, missed the net. Theres no excuses for not being ready to play, no reason for that.- Especially with a tenuous hold on one of the final playoff spots in the Western Conference.
Sunday was billed as a -Night 2 Remember- at the Savvis Center, but theyve all been -EZ 2 Forget- for the Oilers. It all started in January when Edmonton traveled to New York as the Rangers retired Mark Messiers number-11 to the rafters of Madison Square Garden. It was a bittersweet night for the Oilers. Messier had helped bring five titles to Edmonton during their dynastic run in the 1980s. Now he was being honored for delivering a Stanley Cup to the Big Apple after 54 years of ghosts. MacTavish was even a teammate of Messiers in both Edmonton and New York. On this night, the Oilers valiantly fought through the emotions of the road crowd and forced overtime, but eventually lost 5-4.
Later that week, Edmonton traveled to Phoenix. Before the game, the Coyotes inducted former Winnipeg standout Tomas Steen into the teams ring of honor. Steen had never played on the Coyotes, but is still the franchises leader in assists after his days with its previous incarnation, the Jets. His number-25 jersey was already retired by Winnipeg eleven years ago, but one good Tomas Steen retirement deserves another (especially when you have Edmonton in the house). On this night, the Oilers valiantly fought through the emotions of the road crowd and forced overtime, but eventually lost 4-3 in the shootout.
Its not like Edmonton didnt try and use a little retirement mojo for its own cause. In October, the Oilers held Paul Coffey Night, an event that capped two days of festivities honoring the Hall of Fame defenseman. Coffey is a hockey icon on the prairies of Canada where he helped the Oilers to three of their five Stanley Cups. His former teammate Wayne Gretzky was appropriately on hand for the ceremony, this time as coach of the visiting Coyotes. MacTavish was in the house once again, watching another of his former teammates be honored. On this night, the Oilers were spiritedly helped by the emotions of the home crowd and forced overtime, but eventually lost, you guessed it, 4-3 to the Coyotes.
So MacTavish decided to change up their luck on Sunday. When notified the Blues would be holding a 45-minute pregame ceremony for Al MacInnis, MacTavish told his team they would wait it out in the locker room instead of once again watching the pomp and circumstance out on the ice. St. Louis had been looking for a way to put people back in the building. The season has been a disaster on the eastern side of Missouri. The Blues will miss the postseason for the first time in 25 years and were riding a 13-game losing streak going into the weekend. On top of it, St. Louis was starting a rookie goaltender, whose name it will be difficult to spell upon his jersey retirement. But Jason Bacashihua turned away an amazing 23 shots in the third period alone and finishing with 36 saves. On this night, the Oilers valiantly fought through the emotions of the road crowd but eventually lost 2-1.
MacTavish taped a congratulations salute for MacInnis which was played on the video screen during the game, but was clearly miffed his Oilers were once again groomsmen in the retirement celebration. -Theres no excuse for not having everybody ready to play and we end up being the perfect guest for what ends up being a crucial game for us,- he snorted after the game. Look at the bright side, Craig. At least they didnt ask you to bring a gift. Then again, maybe the Oilers are the gift.
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Throwing a celebration and not sure who to invite? Want to guarantee the party is a raging success? Well, Google Edmontons zip code, because youre putting the Oilers on the guest list! Of course, its distinctly possible theyll just hang out in the hall and wait for the lights to come on. But give em a break. Theyre just dragging from being the life of so many parties recently. But donŐt worry, they dont eat much and theyve got nothing going on until at least October. 
