Worst March Ever

(Photo inspired by Scarlett Ice)

Yeah, that was ugly. This whole month has been weird to me.

I should hate the Oilers. I really, really should. But damnit, they have been impressive. I actually have a soft spot now for the little-team-that-could, and on another level I'm jealous of all of the young talent that is emerging on that team. Particularly when I'm comparing it to our prospect closet, which is as barren as the Queen of England.

The Oilers have come up from the depths of hell to be battling -- rather successfully -- for a playoff spot.

Simultaneously, the Flames fumble to find the suck knob and crack that sucker sky-high such that instead of pulling comfortably into a division title -- as they were headed -- they start losing games when you can't lose games, to teams you can't lose to. Flashbacks to last season

To make matters worse, Vancouver came out of nowhere to dominate tonight's game. I realize it's only two losses in a row, but these are not trivial games. The effort needs to be there. It's not. We've got 3 more games, on the road, and this isn't going so swell.

What is the problem? We don't have Playfair as a scapegoat this year (though he is still around...). My original thought was too many strong personalities in the room, too many former Captains, and basically too many people playing solo instead of playing as a team. But this isn't totally the case...Iginla put in a strong game tonight anyway. It shouldn't be overconfidence because this team, post 03-04, has underperformed.

What is the problem? Fuck if I know, but if it's not going to get fixed soon...well, nothing. I'll just be as pissed as I am these days.

It's not all doom and gloom. Still in the playoff picture. 3 more games to go. Plenty of time for this team to man up and pretend like they want a shot at the cup, though I'm starting to guess just how many people on the team actually care.