MacT masterstroke possibly paves way for 7-1 dismantling in Detroit. Latest streak of futility hits eight as Oilers tie 2-2 in San Jose.

Lineup
Smyth	York	Hemsky	Brewer	Cross
Torres	Oates	Dvorak	Smith	Staios
Moreau	Stoll	Pisani	Ferguson	Semenov
Isbister	Horcoff	Laraque
			Conklin
			Salo
Scratched: Reasoner (knee & ankle) out with injury. Bergeron, Chimera were healthy scratches.

Postgame

Considering how Thursday night's 2-2 tie transpired in San Jose it would behoove certain members of the Oilers coaching staff to start looking over their shoulders. Oh wait this is Edmonton where if you were born in Alberta or you played for the Oilers the only way you get fired is if, well we can't get into it here.

But the Oilers played their hearts out again in this one only to accomplish nothing more than a point and once again it's the special teams who let them down on their way to a current 1-6-2 slide.

Patrick Marleau's potting of a Brad Stuart rebound gave the Sharks an early 1-0 lead and it was the 10th straight game that the Oilers 30th ranked penalty kill surrendered a goal. If you are somewhat queasy and would like to vomit, check out this link for all your special team and stomach emptying needs: Canoe Special Team Stats.

The Oilers would respond to tie it just a few minutes later when faceoff replacement Brad Isbister won a clean draw and slid it back to Jason Smith who hammered a puch through a screen and between Eugeni Nabakov's pads. It was the tender's first start in a long while and he looked shaky on the Smith's marker.

But Marleau notched another goal before the period closed with the help of Ethan Moreau. The slick San Jose pivot went to the net unhindered by a soft check from the Oilers winger and when Marleau was stopped on this initial shot, Moreau swiped the rebound into his own net.

Edmonton enjoyed the benefit of three straight powerplays in the second period but clearly showed themselves to be fully immersed in the throes of a 1/28 slide. The Oilers would have their chances as they outshot the Sharks 19-3 in the frame but when the Oilers weren't bumbling on the PP, Nabakov came up with great saves on both Hemsky and York.

The Oilers would finally tie the game though when the aforementioned Ales dangled across the blueline and ripped a shot high, hard and deft over Nabakov's right shoulder.

San Jose reclaimed their turf in the third period and registered the first nine shots on net but nothing that really rattled Ty Conklin who was making his first start since Salo's return off IR. Edmonton had two great chances to win it late in regulation but Mike York's backhand hit the crossbar and a beauftful Torres pass was muffed by Dvorak who just a second or two had an open net had he been able to corral it.

It's silly to look at the playoff picture with 54 games to go but the Oilers will fall out of the pack if their even strenght play suffers in the least. Right now they aren't getting any help from their special teams and logic dicates that will be the final shot that makes the foot fall totally off

Three Stars

Jason Smith - A goal, an assist, four shots on goal, +2 and 20:12 of the most effective minutes you'll ever see a defenseman play. One of his best efforts in recent memory and that could be said whether he had a point or not. Those were just window dressings on a night when made all the right decisions and punished all the right people.

Patrick Marleau - This guy always plays well against the Oilers and tonight was no exception. Two goals and more than a few rushes that set the heart aflutter.

Shawn Horcoff - 12/19 from the faceoff circle and really battled down low in both zones. He's slowly but surely bringing up his +/- figures.

Oil Gauge

23:14 was the highest total registered for any Oilers forward and it belonged to Mike York....A game high 26:17 for Sharks dman Scott Hannan...26.04 with eight shots on net for Staios and we'll get to that very shortly.

News & Notes

Hey, remember Steve Staios? I love the guy and he's all effort but does it make any sense for the Oilers to healthy scratch Marc Andre Bergeron while letting Scott Ferguson play? This happened on Thursday night with Brew drawing back into the fold and it meant that Staios was once again on the Oilers PP. The Oilers PP with Bergeron? Terrible on the road but decent enough at home. Oilers PP without Bergeron but with Staios? Just terrible everywhere. Look it up people....Yet another game where Isbister missed a scoring chance because he's a right handed shot playing the left wing. Playing your off wing doesn't really matter for a guy who scores his goals from the slot but Isbister has one move and it's driving to the net. He made that move late in the second period but flubbed it when he tried to pull it to his backhand....Just 12:29 for Ferguson which was more than seven minutes less than the defenseman with the sixth most icetime, Semenov. This should mean Fergy sits tonight in Phx but we shall see.

Next Game

Tonight at 7:00 MST as the Oilers make their last visit to the Coyotes old building. You can catch it on SN West.