Ramble On

- Well - the confusion has passed. I am now free to cheer for Oiler wins again as we are pretty much secure in 30th place and I no longer have to feel dirty cheering on my team*

- Have I ever been more happy to see an Islanders win than I was last night? I think not.

- Detroit is the best 8th seed since the Oilers in 2006. The Wings in the finals would not surprise me one bit.

- Ryan Whitney has been a pleasant surprise so far. Visnovsky has been scoring some highlight reel goals in Anaheim, but that team seems to be suffering from a severe Olympic hangover. Perry, Getzlaf, Ryan, Selanne, Hiller, Neidermeyer, Visnovsky, and Koivu all played significant minutes in Vancouver. Any connection?

- Remember when everyone talked about the Oilers shootout wins and the mirage of a good team it created? Pheonix has 12 - I wouldn't pick them to get out of round 1.

- Have Oilers fans latched onto Tyler Seguin so they can continue to criticize the Oilers after they choose Taylor Hall?

- I would trade Hemsky, and only Hemsky, for the right to choose 1st and 2nd. I really don't think he resigns after his current contract.

- Will any of the Olympians play for MacT at the World Championships? For that matter, what about the Olympic snubs? Might be a young Team Canada this spring. (Except for Roloson?)

- My theory is Sutter brought in Kotalik to replace Phaneufs point shot on the PP. Since the trades, Kotalik has outscored Phaneuf 1-0 - guess Sutter was right:o)

- Brian Burke's Leafs have won 7 of their last 10 games and still sit pretty securely in 29th place. Remeber when he gloated about taking the picks for Dustin Penner and that given the Oilers recent records, he expected them to be pretty good picks? Would anyone now trade Dustin Penner straight up for Phill Kessel? It's be a tough call. Would anyone trade Tyler Seguin or Taylor Hall for Kessel? How about Hall a 1st and a 2nd?. Good on ya Burkie.

*the word team used loosely.