head coach: Ron Low

roster: C - Doug Weight, Todd Marchant, Boyd Devereaux, Tony Hrkac. LW - Dean McAmmond, Rem Murray, Valeri Zelepukin, Ryan Smyth, Mats Lindgren, Bill Huard, Mike Watt. RW - Bill Guerin, Mike Grier, Andrei Kovalenko, Kelly Buchberger, Georges Laraque, Dennis Bonvie. D - Bobby Dollas, Sean Brown, Greg deVries, Kevin Lowe, Roman Hamrlik, Boris Mironov, Craig Millar, Drake Berehowsky. G - Curtis Joseph, Bob Essensa.

injuries: Kevin Lowe, d (inner ear infection, placed on IR Oct 23, indefinite); Bill Huard, lw (suffered fractured wrist Feb. 2, indefinite); Ryan Smyth, lw (suffered 3rd degree tear of left MCL Jan. 20, indefinite).

transactions: Recalled Dennis Bonvie, rw, from Hamilton (AHL) Feb. 4.

standings:

Western Conference - Pacific Division
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA   
Colorado     58  29  13  16    74  172  138
Los Angeles  55  26  20   9    61  161  146
San Jose     56  21  28   7    49  139  152
Edmonton     57  19  28  10    48  141  164
Anaheim      56  19  28   9    47  137  170
Calgary      57  16  30  11    43  149  179
Vancouver    57  16  33   8    40  153  203

game results:

1/26 at Colorado   L 2-1
1/28 New Jersey    T 1-1
1/31 Vancouver     L 6-3
2/02 Los Angeles   W 1-0
2/04 San Jose      L 3-0
2/06 at Vancouver  L 5-4
2/07 at Calgary    L 4-2

team news:

by Michael Dell, Edmonton Oilers

Rising to the Challenge

He's been up and down to the minors and in and out of the Coliseum press box throughout his career. Now Dean McAmmond's getting a chance and he's putting it in the net. With Ryan Smyth out with a bad knee, McAmmond has found himself on Doug Weight's wing. He's hot. The problem is that he's the only guy who is. He's got six power-play goals in his last nine games and a point total of 27, just three less than his career high. The speedy winger just scored four of Edmonton's five goals in their just completed four-game homestand. That's a problem for the blue and gold; five goals in four games at home just isn't going to cut it in the post-Olympic playoff race.

Sorry Efforts

There's a well-worn axiom in NHL play: you have to win those "4-pointers" in your own division. That was the deal on February 4 as the San Jose Sharks were in town. Not only are the boys in teal divisional rivals, but they and the Oilers are in a dogfight for eighth place in the west.

Whaddya figure? The Oilers come out like they never saw pro competition before. Curtis Joseph stands on his head, plays like the all-star he is and the Oilers lose 3-0. Notable in their absence were defencemen Bo Mironov and Roman Hamrlik. Stinky! Here's what coach Low had to say about it all: "If our guys are worrying about the Olympic Games, well it's four days early. A couple of guys looked like they were already in Japan."

Wait! There's More

On February 7 the Oilers paid a visit to the Saddledome down the southern end of Highway 2 to tangle with the Flames. The same rules applied as in the Sharks game. You gotta beat the local rivals. The problem was that someone neglected to check the newest Flame, Valeri Bure. He weighed in with his first NHL hat trick.

The other fly in the ointment was the usually sturdy Cujo letting in two goals in a minute and getting the hook at 6:03 of the first period. That was hardly the Olympic sendoff he was hoping for.

Trade Breeze for de Vries

Apparently Greg de Vries is no longer satisfying coach Ron Low. Look for him to be traded. Too bad. It looked like he was going to be solid in the fifth or sixth spot. He had a great playoff last year...but so did the whole team.

Who's Eating Sushi in Edmonton?

The only team sending more players to the Olympics is the Colorado Avalanche. The eight Oilers on the way to Nagano are:

Canada - Curtis Joseph (G)
USA - Doug Weight (C), Bill Guerin (RW)
Russia - Boris Mironov (D), Valeri Zelepukin (LW), Andrei Kovalenko
(RW) 
Czech Republic - Roman Hamrlik (D)
Sweden - Mats Lindgren (C)

It's a real little United Nations up in the Great White North, ain't it?

"Hey, it's dog-eat-dog. There won't be any friends on other teams in the Olympics," said Curtis Joseph.

"I don't think I'll be catching any of the Oilers' guys with their heads down. They know me pretty well, Dougie and Bill, I would think they would be watching for me," said Boris Mironov.

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