Oilers Playing Spoiler

Edmonton Oiler Nail Yakupov scoring one of his two goals last night. Via. oiler.nhl.com

The Minnesota Wild entered last night's game against Edmonton with a chance to clinch their first playoff berth in five years. The fans in the building were pumped up to see their team finally returning to the promised land after such a long wait. The energy grew to a fever pitch as Mike Brown and Zenon Konopka got into a heavy fight right at the opening puck drop. However, the Oilers had other plans, and the Wild were being booed off the ice by the end of the second period, down 6-0 and eventually losing 6-1.

It's a position the Oilers, like the Wild, have grown accustomed to in recent years. Eliminated from the playoffs, with nothing to look forward to until next season, but still having to finish up the current year. We all know that hockey players are a proud and determined breed, but how do they find the motivation to keep winning when there's nothing to play for?

There are really two answers for that question, one from an organization's philosophical perspective, and the other from the player's personal perspective. One thing that a franchise should never do is to indicate to it's players that losing is okay, even if their season is essentially over. You hear of every team wanting to "foster a winning culture", whether they are first in the league or last. Throughout the organization, from ownership to management to coaches to players, anything less than giving 100% effort should be unacceptable.

But for the players, it's also about something far simpler: they love to play the spoiler. Don't think for a moment that the Oilers didn't know how high the stakes were for the Wild last night. A chance to put a dent in the playoff hopes of a division rival is more than enough motivation for a team to come out playing hard. The Oilers did exactly that, scoring just 27 seconds into the game and adding two more on four shots while chasing Wild starting goalie Nicklas Backstrom before the end of the first period.

So now the Wild will have to try again tonight, against the Colorado Avalanche. You can bet that the Avs, like the Oilers, won't just lay down and die in their final regular season game on home ice, especially knowing how much a loss would hurt Minnesota. And if the Wild haven't learned their lesson, they're going to be in for another long night, and maybe a long summer afterwards.


Snap Shots:

• It was a close one between the Sabres and Islanders last night, but Buffalo came up with the 2-1 shootout win. It was Ryan Miller's 500th game as a Sabre, and very likely his last. With the single point, the Islanders have temporarily moved up to 6th place in the East and will watch tonight to see who they play in the first round.
• Following the Sabres game, center Jochen Hecht announced his retirement. The 35 year old plans to return to Germany and be with his family after 14 seasons in the NHL. Hecht had been struggling with concussion problems prior to this season, but returned and played 47 games for Buffalo to earn his team's nomination for the Masterton trophy.
• Speaking of which, the full 30 team nominees have now been released, and there are some very deserving names on the list. The sentimental choice may be Sidney Crosby, who has battled back from severe concussion problems to once again take his place among the greatest players on the planet. 
• However my personal choice would be Wild goaltender Josh Harding. Back in November it was revealed that Harding had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a brain disease with no known cure that blurred his vision and affected his balance and co-ordination. Harding persevered through it and was able to get into 5 games this season, including a shutout in his first game back. Inspirational.

Thanks for reading everybody, I appreciate your support here at WAAP. It'll be a huge night tonight in the NHL, with 26 teams in action and playoff implications on the line. I'll be back later with a preview of the key match-ups, but until then here's your daily gif. Have a look at the patience by Maxin Lappiere here as he beats Jimmy Howard in the shootout: