20 years ago, on the evening of Oct. 15, 1989, one point shy of Gordie Howe's all-time scoring mark, the stage was set for an emotional night, both for 17,503 screaming fans at Northlands Coliseum and for myself at 12 years old. I don't think, I could possibly forget that night if I were to ever try.

I was really too young to totally understand the impact of what had happened, but the image of Wayne Gretzky dancing around the ice and being swarmmed by his new L.A. teammates after a capacity crowd was heard chanting "Gretzky, Gretzky" at the 1 minute remaining mark of the third period, is an image that as a fan of Wayne Gretzky and furthermore of hockey in general, will remain with me for the rest of my life and something I'm sure to share with my kids when their old enough to ask me who the best ever was.

It wasn't just one image I'd never seen before either, but a multitude of pictures that was a first for me as a young hockey fan.

The Goal

With Gretzky stationed infront of the net and the left hand side of the crease, (something different for Gretzky who was magic from behind the net), he gobbles up a errant puck that finds his stick and before we know it, the puck floats past Ranford for the record breaker, tying the score, 4-4. The fans went nuts. For the opposing team...

I'd not remembered a time during a hockey game (not yet finished of course) that an entire team would hop off the bench to celebrate a goal. Stranger still was that the opposing team, the Edmonton Oilers, would congratulate with the opposing player. Messier, who I'm sure was frustrated that the game had been tied and ultra-competitive, still had to be happy for his former teammate and great friend, who'd broken a record that to this day hasn't come close to being broken.

The Celebration

I still recall the game being paused to give due credit to such an amazing feat. As the ceremony begins, a red carpet is rolled out and out of the stands steps Howe, Gretzky's father, Walter, Gretzky's wife, Janet, and Kings owner Bruce McNall, the man who orchestrated the historic trade that brought Gretzky to Los Angeles. I didn't really know who all of these people were at 12 years old, but everyone else did, and they were quick to fill me in.

The illustrious group present Gretzky with a gold bracelet let him say a few words and then, after about 15 minutes or so, get back to the game, that still had a minute left. Above all else, Gretzky again does the imaginable and scores in overtime to win the game for the Kings.

The Gretzky Response

What amazes me still to this day, is the words spoken by Gretzky after the game in what must have been the most crowded press and media scrum ever, Gretzky said, "My initial reaction was, 'Hey, we've tied it.' Then it struck me, 'Wow, that's the record breaker,'". Talk about the highest level of professional compete that a player can have. He tries to tie the game, before he thinks of his own stats knowing he's about the prove he's the greatest hockey player in the history of the world.

That tells me all I need to know about why to this day, I'm still a fan of the greatest player to ever play -- Wanyne Gretzky. Happy 20 years Wayne.

I'm sure many of us expected Penner to break out this year -- or at least hoped that was the case. 25 goals-28 goals and 50 points would have been nice. While it's early, Penner is on pace for 32 goals and 82 points. He should continue that hot streak tonight against the Blackhawks.

As Jason Gregor points out, Penner loves playing the Hawks. He has eight goals in 14 games, the most goals against any NHL team. Dustin Penner has for me been the best forward on the ice for Edmonton in at least two of the five games the team has played thus far. He looks faster, stronger, more confident in making plays and has that sense about him that when he's decided to do something with himself and the puck, he's leaving it up to the defence to stop him, and he seems to think they can't. So far, he's been correct.

With 5 points in 5 games, his points haven't been just second assists where his name got on the scoreboard. He's been responsible for at least 4 of those 5 points and been rewarded for sheer effort in driving the net, gaining the zone, holding off opponents or crashing for dirty rebounds. That's exactly the type of player the Oilers were hoping to get from Anaheim.

Penner isn't the only one ready to shatter their offensive records if they keep up their paces. Comrie, and Grebeshkov are also sitting there with 5 points and Brule, O'Sullivan, Cogliano and Hemsky have 4 points. For Hemsky, that's not anything special and he'll need to break out in the next couple games with a multi-point effort, but perhaps tonight against a very strong Blackhawk team, he can do that.

Chicago comes off an impressive comeback win over Calgary, showing just how strong they are offensively. The good news for the Oilers, is that Chicago also showed they can be scored on. This season, if there is one thing the Oilers have done well, it's score.

Expect a high scoring affair tonight. 6-5? 6-4? I'm giving the edge to the Oilers, but only if they can contain Patrick Kane.

As has been reported by the Buffalo News, the Oilers have interest in trading Tom Gilbert for Drew Stafford. Our sources explain, that it is sort of true and sort of not true.

The Oilers would like some help on the right side. Drew Stafford provides that. He's big, he hits, he can be gritty and he's young with a good contract. Those sound like all good things and at the this immediate point in time, they are. That said, Stafford's contract runs only two more years and when he comes due as an RFA, he's set to see a pretty sizeable increase in pay. Moving Gilbert provides some relief immediately, but not in the long term. Gilbert himself should be worth, if he isn't already the $4 million per year his long term contract provides.

Moving Visnovsky or Souray would provide better relief if the Oilers want to move a long term deal from the books; but there are also problems with this scenario from the Sabres end as well. Buffalo doesn't like to be a cap ceiling team and the Oilers are not too eager to move either one Souray or Visnovsky, unless the return is better than a 20 goal scorer who has ties to an Oiler staff member (Head Equipment Manager Barry Stafford). Buffalo would need to provide more in terms of compensation, and show how badly they'd like to have a puck moving defenseman. If the Oilers just wait a little longer, they know that puck moving defensmen should be in higher demand than they already are around the NHL. An opporunity that if patient and teams start to separate themselves, should provide better value for a player like Gilbert.

Speaking of defensmen the Oilers would like to keep, Sheldon Souray could be out a while. No official timeline seems to have been supplied (he's listed as day-to-day), but expect two-three more games at the least as the Oilers play it safe or find themselves in trouble in terms of wins/losses. Staois should be set to return by the Oilers next homestand, but management don't want to risk putting players back in too quick from any sort of head injuries. The Oilers miss Souray's presence on both the ice and in the lockerroom as he's come out this year as one the Oilers true leaders.

The Oilers have not had any talks with Gagner or Cogliano about their upcoming contracts and likely won't until the end of trade deadline this year. Edmonton has already stated they hope to be competitive in the stretch run and look to make temporary improvements at that time. The Oilers also don't see themselves as done with the market in the NHL right now. As the season progresses, faceoff centres and gritty wingers along with opporunities to move contracts from the Oilers roster should present themselves. Gagner and Cogliano on long term deals are just not at the top of the Oilers priority list.

The Oilers may consider moving Grebeshkov if he continues to provide offensive production, but no offers or talks have happened yet. Grebeshkov is always an interesting contract when it comes due each year and with the need to sign other players and/or find relief under what might be a downward moving salary cap, Grebeshlov could provide the best return during the season. Should there be any truth to the Stafford rumors, don't expect the Oilers to move both Gilbert and Grebeshkov. Expect instead that Edmonton brings up both names to see who gathers the largest return.

Steve MacIntyre's time in Edmonton could be limited. The Oilers have showed their ability to play gritty and defend themselves without the need for a one dimensional heavyweight like MacIntyre. Other teams in the NHL however may desire that added toughness and MacIntyre could be moved for as high as a 2nd round pick although a 3rd or 4th rounder is more likely. The Oilers do like MacIntyre and his willingness to become much less than a one dimensional player which is what could keep him in the city a little longer. One source told us "the Oilers feel that characters and people like MacIntyre in general are hard to come by."

In minor league news, The Vancouver Giants have just announced that they have acquired Edmonton Oilers prospect Milan Kytnar from the Saskatoon Blades. In exchange for the overage Euro, Saskatoon receives a 3rd round pick in the 2010 Bantam draft.

If the morning skate for the Edmonton Oilers tell us anything, Pat Quinn and coaching co. are seeing promise and the response they expected when they placed Sam Gagner on the 4th line to start the season. Gagner is slated, according to Saturdays practice, to play 2nd line between Patrick O'Sullivan and Ryan Stone.

For most fans, Gagner was a surprise placement on that 4th line and before Quinn, the Oilers were fearful to sit or demote Gagner due to age and concerns over how he might responsd to the open criticism at such an early stage of his NHL career. Quinn has proven so far, it doesn't matter who you are. If you have a poor start, or don't deserve to be on that line, you won't be.

Gagner in his past two seasons, was a traditionally slow starter. Last season, it took some 16 games before he scored a goal. So far, with 4th line minutes (that's not saying much considering how Quinn rolls his lines) Gagner has two goals. Sam Gagner has done the opposite of what those who thought he might crumble under hte pressure, and exceled showing he thinks he's the forward the Oilers need.

He'll need to successfully keep up that pace as tonight against the Montreal Canadiens, there figures to be plenty of competitive action. The Canadiens got sqaushed 7-1 by a Vancouver squad looking to win it's first game of the year. The Oilers, meanwhile, lost another one-goal heartbreaker to the Flames, showing how successful Edmonton can be in blowing a lead late in the game.

O'Sullivan, Stone and Gagner could be interesting. Then again, Quinn changed the lines in Thursdays morning skate before the Flames game and opened the actual game with the same linemates he's had to start the season. I guess for the Oilers coaches, practice is one thing... games are another.

Pat Quinn in three games has seen a lot from the Oilers. It's not all been good, but it's definitely not all been bad. In two of the three games, the Oilers played well enough to win, in the third, they actually did.

Depsite the fact that the Oilers record could be much worse, Quinn isn't yet satisfied with the effort he's seeing out of much of his new team. In both games, a single and subtle different choice could have meant the Oilers walk away from game three with 5 points instead of 3. Those types of results aren't enough for the grizzly veteran coach and don't expect Quinn to stop talking and riding Edmonton's players, until the team understands that those points are far too valueable to let slip away.

With an empty net on Thursday, Ales Hemsky could have ended things and put the Oilers up 4-2, thus eliminating any possibility of Calgary evening the score with less than a second to play in regulation. Fans and management can play "what if" all night, and I agree; it's not often a valueable exercise, but Quinn seems to see it as something the Oiler players simply have to learn. Plays such as that, just won't stand comfortably with Edmonton's new head coach.

In his post game presser, Quinn was quick to answer questions regarding the comeback and tieing goal. Admitting that Hemsky essentially "dicked around" with the puck is what cost them the extra point and ultimately the win. It's the mental attitude and the agressiveness to go for the "kill" that Quinn sees missing in his squad, and I'm guessing in more than just Hemsky.

Even in reference to the Iginla fiasco that put Sheldon Souray out of the game with a mild concussion, Quinn took the opportunity to make reference to this "attitude" I speak of, publicly acknowledging his frustration with the rules, todays game and likely his players for letting such a "dirty" play go un-punished. Quinn wants his players to do everything as a team, and not just fighting or standing up for one another-- that includes winning.

It's about team first. Souray is just one example. Plays like Khabibulin's botched goal in game one, or defensive break-downs in game two. Even Hemsky's bonehead empty-net gaff in game three are just bits of what Quinn is referring to. When players think of themselves first, the team always suffers and points will slip away. Points, the Oilers can't afford to see go out the window.

I saw a lot of good things in last nights game. What I haven't seen yet, is evidence that this team understands the total concept of what Quinn seems to be trying to pound into his guys. When I think their communication is strong, or that one player really seems to be on his game, his linemates let him down or a communication error finds the Oilers dragging in their own zone. The good news, is that Quinn seems to be just the right guy to set the ship back on the correct course.

Players like Sam Gagner for one, who until Quinn's arrival was treated with "kid gloves" because coaching and management were too afraid to de-rail his progess; is just one example where of all people, Quinn knows what he's doing. He's forcing Gagner to earn his reputation and spot on this team and Gagner's responding. Could Hemsky be next? If I can read between the lines, Quinn seems to be eyeing the Oilers #1 right winger in some of his comments. It'll be interesting, if Quinn chooses to do so, how Hemsky responds to whatever Quinn decides is best for both Hemsky and the team.

Game by game, the Oilers seem to be making adjustments. Hopefully, by the time it all comes together, the team won't have let too many valuable points slip. As fans in Edmonton know, all it takes is 1. 1 point in a tight Western Conference is the difference between the playoffs and golf season.

Game #1, the Oilers out-play the Flames and lose. Game #2, the Stars out-play the Oilers, and the Oilers win. Sports can be funny that way. It's a game of bounces, of lucky breaks and of what goes around comes around, sometimes as much as it is skill.

What is evident after Tuesdays game, is that the Oilers are not yet any closer to determining which set of players, belong not only on the same line together, but where if at all on the team. Time is running out for Pat Quinn and company to decide.

The Oilers, in one of the most entertaining, yet wrenching games I've watched in a while, squeaked out two points. Jacques was moved to give Penner a chance to spark Horcoff and Hemsky, Nilsson plugged in on the third line and got an assist, while otherwise coughing up the puck a lot. And Brule actually won more faceoffs than he lost. Do any of these things tell us who will be staying and who won't once Marc Pouliot comes of IR which it looks like he'll be doing rather quickly?

The Edmonton Oilers will likely send Pouliot to Springfield for conditioning, which is probably not only needed, but buys them a little extra time, to make some tricky decisions. I would suggest they're even more tricky knowing that in two games, the Oilers, nor any of its roster players have showed something that even closely resembles something solid for the coaching staff.

Pairings, which Quinn is keen to make the heart and sole of the team, haven't really come forth. O'Sullivan and Comrie have been ok, and are maybe the closest to soldified, if any pairing, but they've yet to match the chemistry they found in pre-sesaon. Hemsky and Horcoff are not showing signs of life nor are the Cogs/Gagner, Nilsson/Gagner, Penner/Brule (ok, maybe a bit on those two) or whomever else you choose to partner.

So what should Quinn do? Who should he cut? Who should he keep?

Better yet, can't Tambellini make some kind of trade to find a solution that seems to be the only evident skill-sets missing in both games -- that being faceoffs and penalty killing? I guess, the Oilers will need more time. My bet is they use every inch of the two weeks they can get out of Pouliot's re-conditioning stint in the minors.

When I had the chance to speak with Dan Tencer about two months ago regarding any interest the Oilers would have had in Blair Betts an unsigned free agent in this summers crop of forwards looking for an NHL club, his answer was "none at all. Betts is not on the Oilers radar".

If Dan Tencer is correct -- and I have no good reason to assume he wouldn't be -- that amazes me. Sure, we're a far ways away from being able to judge the Edmonton Oilers on one game. But for those who want to, the Oilers did everything right on Saturday against the Flames with the exception of three things.

1) Their penalty kill was 2 for 4.
2) Their faceoff % were nothing to brag about. Horcoff was his usual fantastic self, and Comrie was excellent, but both Brule and Gagner suffered going 36% and 20% respectively.
3) Khabibulin let in one of the most painful goals we'll see all season.

Blair Betts would have aided in, or dare I say solved two of those three issues.

Tom Renney once commented that his league leading penalty kill in New York was not so much attributed to the style he coached, but the willingness of two players to go out and lead his team on the kill; one of whom was Blair Betts. Are we to assume then that Renney and Tambellini didn't have one conversation about the penalty kill and how to improve it? Betts was available. In fact more than available. He basically waited for an NHL team to give him a try-out, which he got with the Flyers, made the team and has since been his masterful defensive self among team leaders in faceoff % and ice-time on the PK for the Flyers. (at least when last I checked at a quick glance.)

The Oilers could have waived or demoted any of the players whom didn't dress in Saturdays opener to clear the space needed to sign Betts. He might have appreciated not having to try-out for an NHL club, instead going where he was both wanted and sorely needed.

As is stands now, the Oilers will need to create a trade to obtain someone who can help them improve on what looks to be still a glaring hole not filled by Brule or Gagner. Trades to say the least in the NHL are tricky; especially when the players you're shopping are as one dimensional as players like Nilsson, MacIntyre and Pouliot.

With Pisani on long term IR, the future is even more bleak on the penalty kill and someone like Betts could have been a real good friend of Quinn and Renney, when it was obvious that on the kill and in the faceoff circle, both coaches are looking for friends not on the Oilers roster.

Maybe facebook? Seems easy to make friends there. I suggest that any facebook users with particularly excellent faceoff and PK skills send an invite to Quinn, Renney and especially Tambellini. It seems to me that Tambo was busy surfing the net when he should have been filling holes on the Oilers, that even facebook users with no hockey experience could have forseen.

If you've ever seen a two year old kid, jump around gitty with excitement over the fact that they're about to get some "candies", only to realize that those candies you thought you had, you finished off the other day so now you're a liar...is the only feeling I can compare to how the Oilers lost their season opener Saturday night against the Calgary Flames.

I can't remember so many faces hung in sadness and a collective breath taken so loud, as the one taken at Rexall Place at the 46 second mark when Nikolai Khabibulin brain farted the Oilers to a loss in the first game of the season. Not only did about 18,000 two-year olds not get their candies, but their team lost a valueable point in the standings on a game, that if momentum means anything, the Oilers would have probably won.

For the most part Khabibulin was OK. Not great, but OK. The first goal by Curtis Glencross, was a beauty move after Smid left the front of the net wide open and Glencross tucked it upstairs. I can still see Oilers management looking for a place to hide everytime Glencross comes back to bite the Oilers like that. Kevin Lowe, you should be ashamed of yourself.

The second and third were goals tipped in, with little to no chance for the goalie. The third one not as much, but still, I hesitate to blame it on Khabibulin. The same can not be said for the final goal, which was one of those type of goals, where you're in such shock, you're not even mad -- just amazed.

The Oilers dominated the first and third periods in that game, and were mere inches away from winning with a wide-open net miss by Patrick O'Sullivan, only to see the type of error made by an Oilers goalie that couldn't be made in 81 more attempts if you tried.

I suppose that's the good news. This is the first game of the year. The Edmonton Oilers have 81 more chances to not make that mistake again. If I'm judging solely on effort, style of play and opportunities, the Oilers will be miles better than they were last season, despite this loss.

They outshot the Flames. They outhit the Flames. They were better in faceoffs (for the most part as Sam Gagner was horrid outside of his otherwise terrfic game), and they outworked Calgary. The Oilers had trouble moving the puck from d-man to d-man outside of their own zone and had a section of the second period where they played with their backs to the wall, but what was one really bad goal, is not yet a reason to hang our heads.

How the Oilers come out and respond on Tuesday against the Dallas Stars will tell us a lot, as will how Quinn reacts to some of the players for the Oilers that were noticebly poorer than the rest of the team. Will Gagner with that solid effort stay 4th line? I would bet at the very least, he and Brule switch roles. Will Penner stay off the first line? Jacques wasn't bad, but Penner was excellent.

Will Khabibulin come out and earn a shut-out victory? He'll need to come close, because those fans who gaffed at his 4 year contract when he joined the team, really had a lot to say last night. Khabibulin probably feels worse than anyone about the game ended, and if he has the character I hope he does, watch out for a very strong game on Tuesday.