Hey Oilers, how's the basement?

I definitely did not expect the Oilers to be picking up the rear in the West this season.  The Kings have been there many times, especially in recent years so I won't crap all over the Oilers in this post.  It always annoyed me when I read other bloggers write that it should be an easy win tonight because their team was playing the Kings.  Despite how bad the Kings were in those seasons they still won games and occasionally they had moments of brilliance.  You never knew when the Kings would shine and it always felt good to get the random win against a team in the upper echelon of the league.

(Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Hey Bam Bam, you're next

Even though the Kings are currently in 5th place in the West (and tied for 5th in points in the league...jeez Eastern Conference) I still don't think of them of being in the top tier of the league.  Perhaps I'm so used to the Kings losing that I'm just waiting for things to fall apart.  With just over 20 games remaining it's going to be a dog fight once the NHL resumes after the Winter Olympics.  

However, with only 42 points, it's probably safe to say that the Edmonton Oilers are one of the few teams that will not be fighting for a playoff spot.  And now that the Kings are no longer in a winning streak hopefully there's a little less pressure on them tonight.  It's imperative the Kings beat the Oilers tonight if they not only want to stay in the playoff race but also make a run for home-ice advantage.  

It'll be great to see Lubo again.  It's too bad he hasn't had the same success in Edmonton.  Once again you have to praise Lombardi for making the business decision to trade Lubo, even if it meant looking like an ass for trading him just before the no-trade clause took effect.  Jarrett Stoll and Matt Greene have done pretty well with the Kings so I have no complaints with trading away a large salary and not being locked into an older player.  I'm not always sold on Greene but this season he's looked a lot better and there's been much talk on his leadership qualities, not something Lubo was known for.