Sunday Scramble: The predictably unpredictable Oilers, a bad day for the Senators, and annoying whistling at Mammoth games<\/p>\n
Oh, the Los Angeles Kings<\/a>, one of your biggest rivals, are in town after losing to Winnipeg just 24 hours before?\u00a0<\/p>\n Whack.\u00a0<\/p>\n Big divisional game to keep pace? A jazzed-up building celebrating the Great and Powerful Leon Draisaitl and his 1000-point achievement?\u00a0<\/p>\n Loss.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Hockey Gods are sitting behind the display counter like Rick Harrison from Pawn Stars<\/a> when they reply to the Oilers, \u201cThe best I can do is a point.\u201d<\/p>\n You can set your watch to Edmonton Oilers performances this year. They are predictably unpredictable.\u00a0<\/p>\n When you think they are generating momentum, they are due to start a game with no shots in the first 10 minutes. When you think they are falling apart at the seams, like some were at this time last Sunday<\/a>, this team goes 2-1.\u00a0<\/p>\n And win two of three they did, with a nice home showing against Nashville, and a gritty comeback at Winnipeg.\u00a0<\/p>\n Five games in seven nightsRoad to Chicago on MondayRoad to Nashville on Tuesday\u00a0Home vs New York Islanders on ThursdayRoad to Vancouver on Saturday\u00a0<\/p>\n Then the Oilers host the Blues on Sunday to end the back-to-back. It\u2019s a sprint before the beginning of what I call the \u201cdominant\u201d part of their schedule, where they play eight straight games at home.\u00a0<\/p>\n Applying the current Oilers schedule rules, where they can\u2019t win three in a row and don\u2019t often win back-to-backs, I wager the Oilers will go 3-2 in some fashion over the next five.\u00a0<\/p>\n Record vs Pacific: 5-2-2\u00a0Record in back-to-backs: 1-3-3\u00a0Record on the road: 11-11-3\u00a0Ingram\u2019s the choiceWhen Tristan Jarry returns, which could be this week<\/a>, the Oilers are forced to decide between Ingram and Pickard, unless they carry three goaltenders, which I don\u2019t see happening.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s Ingram, right?\u00a0<\/p>\n In six starts, he\u2019s 3-2, and five out of six games he\u2019s provided a .900 save percentage or better.\u00a0<\/p>\n His ugly game against the Bruins tanked his overall save percentage to .892, but Ingram gives the Oilers a better chance to win more consistently than Calvin Pickard<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pickard has been a fine soldier for the franchise. The Oilers do not make the Stanley Cup Final without him last year. He started Game 5 of the Final, too, don\u2019t forget. His track record of being able to get hot is one of the great Oilers\u2019 playoff stories.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last year\u2019s postseason makes me believe there\u2019s an outside chance the Oilers could trade Pickard to clear the money and get some type of asset back. While unlikely, there is a dearth of quality goaltending in the league right now.\u00a0<\/p>\n The best-case scenario is that Pickard would clear waivers, which is also a 50-50 proposition, and be available in Bakersfield if the Oilers need him.\u00a0<\/p>\n Let\u2019s be honest, are we confident that when Tristan Jarry returns, he is going to be a figure of perfect health? I don\u2019t, especially with a lower-body injury that looks like a groin issue. Those have a way of lingering.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n But if Pickard was on waivers, would the Ottawa Senators \u2013 without their starting goaltender and getting little support from their backups \u2013 not be interested?\u00a0<\/p>\n Senators\u2019 bad week<\/p>\n Thursday was one of the worst days for a franchise I can remember.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Ottawa Senators got blitzkrieged by the Colorado Avalanche 8-2 on the ice. But all the focus was off the ice when a nasty rumour surrounding Linus Ullmark\u2019s absence<\/a> from the team exploded online, was promptly deleted, and created a maelstrom of speculation.\u00a0I was surprised the Senators addressed it<\/a> publicly because there was little benefit, and then it became a printable story.\u00a0<\/p>\n I\u2019ve worked for years as a news reporter, writing thousands more stories on local, provincial, and national politics, crime, court, etc., than I ever have about hockey.\u00a0<\/p>\n Typically, the move from media relations folks or politicians is to avoid addressing the rumours. Don\u2019t feed the trolls. Don\u2019t give any credence to people believing it could be true by responding to it.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s why general manager Steve Staios\u2019 quick and emphatic reply within a few hours took me by surprise.\u00a0<\/p>\n Things get said all the time online that are so beyond the pale, offside, egregious, and are never addressed.\u00a0Obviously, the Senators disagree. It struck such a nerve (rightfully so) with the players and front office that they went full-attack mode.\u00a0<\/p>\n It would\u2019ve been difficult internally to bite their tongues, but would we still be talking about it if Ottawa had ignored it?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty f\u2013king [sic] bullshit,\u201d Tkachuk told the media<\/a> after. \u201cI don\u2019t think anybody\u2019s pretty happy about a narrative being spread like that. I think it\u2019s okay for people to critique our on-ice performance, but when it gets into family, it\u2019s pretty fucking bullshit.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI really feel bad for Linus\u2026 Nobody knows what he\u2019s going through. But the fact that he has to even deal with this and even have to think about it. All we care about for him is getting what he needs, and we\u2019ve said from Day 1 that he has our support. Now that he has to deal with this, it\u2019s f\u2013king [sic] mind-blowing.\u201d<\/p>\n Obviously, the team wanted to come out and support their goaltender full-throated, as have the players.\u00a0<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know what to make of this whole situation, but certainly it\u2019s the last thing Ottawa needs as they fall further out of playoff contention.\u00a0It\u2019s also ugly that Ullmark, dealing with whatever he\u2019s going through, then has this lopped onto his plate.\u00a0<\/p>\n