from Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun,

They're dead men skating now.

And they're skating with a fork in them. They're done.

It's hard to come to any other conclusion after a game the entire hockey world viewed as loser-is-out when it comes to the Western Conference playoff picture.

Sure, the Oilers won five fabulous games in a row leading into this, including that 8-2 win in Calgary on April 1st to put them ever so briefly in the final playoff position in the NHL West.

But that was then. And this is now.

And now the tragic number is six.

Any combination of Edmonton losses and Detroit Red Wings wins totaling six and it'll be seven straight seasons out of the playoffs for the Oilers.

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