head coach: Ron Low

roster: C - Doug Weight, Jason Arnott, Todd Marchant, Steve Kelly, Boyd Devereaux. LW - Dean McAmmond, Rem Murray, Ryan Smyth, Mats Lindgren, Bill Huard, Joe Hulbig, Ray Whitney, Jason Bowen. RW -, Mike Grier, Andrei Kovalenko, Kelly Buchberger, Dennis Bonvie. D - Drew Bannister, Drake Berehowsky, Sean Brown, Greg deVries, Kevin Lowe, Bryan Marchment, Boris Mironov. G - Curtis Joseph, Bob Essensa.

injuries: Bill Huard, lw (second degree sprain of MCL in right knee Oct. 13, out indefinitely).

transactions: Traded Brant Myrhes, f, to Philadelphia Flyers for Jason Bowen, lw; signed Rem Murray, lw, to multi-year contract.

standings:

Western Conference - Pacific Division
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA   
Colorado      9   5   1   3    13   33   22  
Edmonton      9   3   5   1     7   18   31   
Los Angeles   9   2   4   3     7   32   30 
Vancouver     7   2   3   2     6   17   19  
Anaheim       7   2   3   2     6   12   17 
San Jose      8   2   6   0     4   20   26 
Calgary       8   1   5   2     4   18   27  

game results:

10/08 NY Rangers      T 3-3
10/11 Toronto         W 2-1
10/13 at Vancouver    L 3-0
10/15 Colorado        L 6-2
10/17 at Anaheim      L 2-1
10/19 at Los Angeles  W 3-2 OT

team news:

by Simon D. Lewis, Edmonton Oilers

All Hands to the Pumps

The good ship Oiler is taking on water and listing badly. A miserable start to the season has many wondering where the glamourous playoff team has gone. The two biggest problems are a lack of scoring and the failure of goalie Curtis Joseph to bring his best game to the rink.

Twice now, Cujo has been shown up by Colorado's Patrick Roy. It's as if Roy has it in for Curtis since he was chosen above Roy for the World Cup team. St. Patrick wants that Olympic job. (For more on this item see the feature story, "Trouble in Paradise".)

Kevin Cops a `Tude

The elder statesman of the Edmonton Oilers seems like he could use a refresher course in diplomacy. During the Oilers' shutout loss to Vancouver on Oct. 13 Lowe whacked Canuck Gino Odjick with his stick. It doesn't sound like much, but Lowe was on the Oiler bench at the time. The NHL frowns quite severely on this. The result was that Lowe received a three-game suspension and a $1,000 fine from league VP Brian Burke. Luckily, if you look at things this way, No. 4 came down with some kind of bug and wouldn't have been able to play the next few games anyway.

Have Fists Will Travel

Oiler GM Glenn Sather couldn't get tough guy Brant Myrhes signature on a contract. So, when Philly's Bob Clarke called looking to sign a fighter, Sather handed him over in return for left winger Jason Bowen. Myrhes never really got much of a look see after being traded from Tampa to Edmonton. He lost the battle for a place on the Oiler tag team to Dennis Bonvie and Bill Huard. Bowen is big at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds. Sather doesn't like him for his fighting but rather for his size and his skating.

This Could be the Last Time

October 8, 1997. Write that date down. It could be the last time that Wayne Gretzky played in front of the Edmontonians who still love him so much. The Great One got an assist and four minutes in penalties as his Rangers played the Oilers to a 3-3 tie. The reason Wayne may never be back is this: next year the expanded NHL goes to an unbalanced schedule which means there is no guarantee that the Rangers will play Edmonton. Gretzky's career is certainly in its twilight. A couple of bad schedules and it may all be over. Maybe they'll meet in the Cup Final...

Who is that Guy?

In the never-ending quest for good young players, the Oilers are suiting up yet another impressive rookie. Boyd Devereaux (number 19) is a young guy playing his heart out. Last year at the World Juniors he was a major cog in the machine. It looks like he's meshing well in the blue and gold. He's getting lots of penalty killing time. Against the Rangers coach Low had him out for a defensive zone faceoff in the last minute of a tie game. Devereaux lost the draw but immediately got out to the point and blocked the shot. He may not stay up all year (he's just a kid) but he's showing the wheels and the heart needed to make it in the pros. He still needs to learn how to control the puck at the raised tempo of the NHL.

Ow!

Maybe Cujo's less than stellar start is due to injury. Joseph sat out the Anaheim game as he rested a shoulder hurt in the game against the Rangers. The injury is of an indeterminate nature but is not severe enough to put him on the IR list. The Edmonton Journal reports he is taking anti-inflammatory pills.

The Puck Stops Here

How about those Oiler alumni between the pipes? Former Edmonton goalies Bill Ranford (Washington), Ron Tugnutt (Ottawa), Grant Fuhr (St. Louis) and Andy Moog (Montreal) as of Oct. 19 had combined for a record of 10-3-2.

Puck Queering the Deal?

Until the Oilers are sold there will be the obligatory "For Sale Story" in this space. Some think that current owner Peter "Puck" Pocklington doesn't want the team sold to local buyers. To this end he will keep up the pressure to make a local sale tough. He'd rather find a partner who could help him pay off some of his debts, keep the team around for a few years, and then either move or sell it to the States. One rumoured partner is the owner of the WWF. Are you ready to rumble?

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