Oilers in crisis; Islanders get boost; Weekend games to watch; more

The woeful Edmonton Oilers have already hit a crisis point, NHL's best weekend games to watch, more notes.

Allan Muir | Oct 17, 2014

Oilers in crisis; Islanders get boost; Weekend games to watch; more /

What you missed last night:

• Milan Lucic didn't follow through on any death threats, but the gesture he made toward Canadiens fans is being reviewed by the league.

• Pascal Dupuis left Thursday's game against the Stars after being hit in the head by the puck.

• Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov hit the IR, and his backup, Reto Berra, was injured against the Senators.

• Now you can celebrate every NHL goal at home with this fun soundboard.

• Jonathan Quick and Brian Elliott took shutouts into the shootout, but Quick's Kings took the win over the Blues.

• The Devils suffered their first loss at the hands of the Capitals, with Cory Schneider taking most of the abuse.

• The Rangers got their second win ... by barely squeaking past the woeful Hurricanes thanks to Henrik Lundqvist.

• The Whale is long gone, but gifs of Pucky doing the sprinkler live forever.

GALLERY: Weirdest Hockey Mascots

Weirdest Hockey Mascots

Harvey: Calgary Flames

You'd think a team with a name like the Flames would employ a fire-themed mascot like the ill-fated Scorch (inset), but Harvey the Hound has been Calgary's alpha dog since 1984. His droopy tongue is the oddest thing about him, and it made an inviting target for Oilers coach Craig MacTavish, who ripped it out of Harvey's mouth during a 2003 game.

Stinger: Columbus Blue Jackets

David E. Klutho/SI; Michael Miller via Wikipedia

The Blue Jackets' Civil War connection is not always immediately recognized, so it was fitting that Boomer the Cannon (inset) was often mistaken for a bong, mustachioed male genitalia, or a sausage between two pizza wheels after his introduction in 2010. His plug was quickly pulled, leaving the team with its original mascot, Stinger, who seems to be a play on a yellow jacket except that he's green.

HockeyBird: NHL

NHL-mascot-HockeyBird-X157809-TK1_0142-groucho-marx.jpg — David E. Klutho/SI

Introduced for the league's 2014 Stadium Series of outdoor games, it's an odd hybrid of a puck and an Angry Bird topped with Groucho Marx eyebrows. All it needs is a cigar and some Marxist zingers like, "Bettman, you have the brain of a four-year-old boy and I bet he was glad to get rid of it."

Max: Manchester Monarchs (AHL)

Clearly a kin of Bailey, the L.A. Kings' lion mascot, Max's purple snout summons Marxist images of Groucho's greasepaint mustache. Like HockeyBird, he could also use a nice big cheroot in the corner of his mouth.

Fin: Vancouver Canucks

We get that he's supposed to be an orca like the one on the team's crest, but Fin's uncanny resemblance to the malevolent creature in the Alien movies is a bit unnerving. And he's often seen biting people's heads.

Twister: Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL)

Whatever it is, it's the stuff of bad dreams ... or an Alien prequel.

Victor E. Green: Dallas Stars

The NHL's newest mascot is an alien with hockey sticks for antennas. The outer space thing does make sense for a team called the Stars, and his name either refers to the club's official colors or, as some have speculated, Norman Green, the former owner who spirited the franchise away from Minnesota in 1993.

Audie: Utica Comets (AHL)

A cross between a big little green man and actor Eugene Levy?

Youppi!: Montreal Canadiens

What is he? The former mascot of the Montreal Expos. Youppi! (French for "Yippee!") was taken in by the storied Habs after the MLB team relocated to Washington for the 2005 season and left him on his own.

Sparky: New York Islanders

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Google Images

What hath a dragon to do with the Islanders? Like Montreal's Youppi!, Sparky was once employed by a team in another sport (in this case Charles Wang's NY Dragons of the Arena Football League). After Wang bought the Isles in 2000, Sparky replaced the shabby, vaguely creepy Nyisles (inset), who was supposed to be seafarer like the fisherman on the team's infamous crest of mid-90s.

Badaboum: Quebec Nordiques

I am the Walrus? The Nordiques' mascot, which must have a sibling named Badabing, was abandoned when the team moved to Colorado, became the Avalanche, and upgraded to Howler the Yeti.

Bernie: Colorado Avalanche

In 2009, the Avs replaced the somewhat scurvy Howler the Yeti (inset), who'd been spotted in the Pepsi Center stands for two years, with Bernie, a St. Bernard with a cask (or is it a football?) attached to its chin.

Spike: Toledo Walleye (ECHL)

toledo-walley-mascot-spike-creature-from-the-black-lagoon.jpg — Courtesy of the Toledo Walleye

A cousin of the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Obviously works for scale.

Stormy: Carolina Hurricanes

Granted, finding a suitable mascot for a team named after a meteorological maelstrom is a challenge, but Stormy gives one paws, er, pause. If you're not from the Tar Heel State, you're probably unaware that he's an homage to North Carolina's many hog farms and that Ice Hogs was considered as a name for the former Whalers after they relocated from Hartford in 1997.

Thunderbug: Tampa Bay Lightning

He's a lightning bug (aka a firefly), and that's all well and good. We like him, actually, but he appears to be related to Pac-man.

MeLVin: Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL)

Yogi Bear as conceived on an acid trip.

Roscoe: Milwaukee Admirals (AHL)

Aye, and a scurvy vision he be with that somewhat macabre jersey.

Hat Trick: Norfolk Admirals (AHL)

Oh, that demented grin.

Games to watch this weekend:

Canucks at Oilers (9:30 p.m. EDT Friday; SNP, SNV, SNW, SNOL)

Eric Staal trade rumors; Pressure mounts on Eakins; more notes

Don't think of it as a game. Think of it as a truck stalled helplessly on the railroad tracks as the evening express comes screaming around the curve at 95 mph.

That has to be what it feels like right now for Edmonton, right? The Oilers have become disaster-tainment. They're the Washington Generals of the NHL, standing around while the opposition blows past them and mercilessly runs up the score. It takes some special kind of incompetence to allow 22 goals in just four games, but incompetence seems to be what Edmonton specializes in.

That's why it's not too soon to say that the Oilers are at a make-or-break juncture of their season. If Edmonton doesn't play well during its upcoming seven-game home stand—which starts against Vancouver on Friday night—then the Oilers that hit the road on Nov. 4 could look significantly different than they do now. Maybe the coach will get cashiered. Maybe the team will make a franchise-altering trade (Jordan Eberle, finally?). Maybe there will be a smarter deployment of assets (Jeff Petry and Martin Marincin in, Brad Hunt out).

Anything, really. As long as it isn't more of the same.

Islanders at Penguins (7 p.m. EDT Saturday; MSG Plus, ROOT)

Is it still too early to call New York a good team? Maybe, but Thursday's win over the Sharks and red-hot goalie Alex Stalock showed a lot of character. It would have been easy for the Islanders to get frustrated when it looked like Stalock would single-handedly deny them a victory in spite of their dominant effort. But New York stuck to its plan, fought back from a couple of deficits and finished things off in the shootout. A solid effort.

The game also marked the season debut for top-four defenseman Calvin de Haan. He's not someone who gets a lot of attention, but the 23-year-old blueliner is a solid player—high-end skater, terrific composure with the puck, always seems to be in the right place. Add him to the mix and the Isles become much more effective in their own zone. That will be critical on Saturday against a Pittsburgh team that should be fired up after melting down late against the Stars on Thursday. The Penguins looked sloppy after they took a 2–0 lead in the first period, but their power play was a bright spot. You can't say enough positive things about their addition of PatricHornqvist, who spent the night getting up close and personal with Dallas keeper Kari Lehtonen. Should be a nice battle between Hornqvist and New York defenseman Travis Hamonic for that high-value net-front property.

Blues at Ducks (8 p.m. EDT Sunday; FS-MW, PRIME)

St. Louis was flat-out lousy in California last season—losing eight-of-nine to Anaheim, San Jose and the Kings—so no one should be all that surprised to see they dropped another game on Thursday night in Los Angeles. To be fair, though, the Blues were outstanding in that game. They out-Kinged the Kings, keeping the puck on a string and launching 43 shots at Jonathan Quick before finally being knocked off in the shootout 1–0.

Even though the St. Louis offense couldn't finish, it is showing signs of greatness. Center Paul Stastny has been a nice fit, driving play and making things happen with his creativity. Vladimir Tarasenko is capable of doing something special every time he touches the puck, and Jaden Schwartz is quickly becoming the most consistent and effective weapon on the team. Coach Ken Hitchcock is still in the mix-and-match phase, trying to find the right fit for everybody, but the depth that was missing last season looks to be in place this time around.

That depth could be the difference against the loaded Ducks. Hitchcock has said repeatedly that he's not looking to the elite clubs in the West as measuring sticks, but that's coach-speak. The Blues passed their first test of the season against Los Angeles, but now they need the points from Anaheim. Should be a good one.

Must-reads:

• Everything's coming along nicely for the Blue Jackets on the ice. Off the ice? Not so much.

• The steady decline of the Canadian dollar could have a dangerous impact on NHL finances.

• Selfish hockey is paying off for the Coyotes' Mikkel Boedker. This kid has always had a terrific shot, but there's been too much deference in his game since he arrived in the NHL. Shooting first is going to make him a more effective weapon.

Published Oct 17, 2014

ALLAN MUIR