Morning After Meltdown: Edmonton Oilers

I almost feel bad for giving the Morning After Meltdown to the Edmonton Oilers. Going into their Monday night game against the Red Wings, everybody had a feeling it wouldn't go well for the Oil.

Just consider all the drama the team had going on earlier in the day. Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish ripped last year's leading scorer Dustin Penner, who's off to a slow start this year, saying, "He's not competitive enough or fit enough to help us, so why put him back in? He's never been fit enough to help us. We signed him to be a top-two line player and that's kind of where it ended. The difference was we thought the contract was a starting point, and he's viewed it as a finish line."

MacTavish went on to say, "It's been one thing after another. I can't watch it for - certainly not another two and-a-half years." Ouch!

You know that sort of thing messes with the team's psyche. And that was quite evident Monday night. The Oilers were outshot 41-21 and ended up being shutout 4-0. Did I mention that the Wings started their back-up goalie Ty Conklin who used to play for Edmonton? Yeah it was that ugly for the Oilers.

And to add insult to injury, or I guess in this case injury to insult, Oilers star Fernando Pisani broke his ankle as he slid into the boards feet first as he battled for the puck with the Red Wings’ Nicklas Lidstrom with a little under 15 minutes left in the third period. MacTavish said that Pisani, who was on crutches after the game, would be out at least a month.

So for putting in a weak showing in Motown against the Wings on Monday, the Edmonton Oilers are awarded the Morning After Meltdown.

Morning After Meltdown - Monday Morning Edition: Los Angeles Kings

The Monday Morning edition of the Morning After Meltdown (MAM) is my favourite edition of all the MAM editions.

That's because most of the MAMs only reward a team for the worst performance of the previous night. The Monday morning edition instead points out a team that put in awful performances over the entire weekend.

That dubious distinction this Monday morning goes to the Los Angeles Kings. Over the weekend the Kings lost 3-1 to the Preds on Saturday, and then dropped a 2-0 decision to division rivals Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.

You read that right. They only managed to score one goal over the weekend. Pretty terrible effort by the Kings.

So the Morning After Meltdown - Monday Morning Edition goes to offensively challenged Los Angeles, who looked more like court jesters instead of Kings. And by that I mean they're a joke. I don't know if that joke was too subtle or not. Just wanted to point that out so my high brow humour didn't go unnoticed.

Morning After Meltdown: Tampa Bay Lightning

We knew it wouldn't be on the most exciting or glamorous games on the schedule, but Wednesday night's Lightning vs. Panthers game was an eye sore. That is if you're a Lightning fan.

The Florida Panthers aren't one of the better teams in the league. Far from it. Before their game on Wednesday the Panthers were tied for last in the Eastern Conference.

Tampa Bay meanwhile isn't one of the strongest teams either, but if you're going to pick up a win, you need to be able to do it against struggling teams like the Panthers.

Instead it was Florida that looked like the better team all night long, shutting out the Bolts 4-0. How do you get shut out by the Panthers! That's embarassing!

The Morning After Meltdown goes to the Tampa Bay Lightning, for being shut out by one of the worst teams in the league, who also happens to be one of their rivals.

Morning After Meltdown: Detroit Red Wings

Things aren't going so well in the Motor City these days. The auto industry is losing hundreds of millions of dollars and is pleading for a government bailout, and the Detroit Red Wings awful third period collapse Tuesday night only adds to the misery in Motown. Perhaps the Wings could use a bailout of their own.

Detroit was leading 4-2 going into the third period and even scored two more goals in the third, but it wasn't enough and still managed to let it all fell apart.

Penguins center Jordan Staal scored a hat trick in the third period and then Pittsburgh went on to win it in overtime.

Hey at least Detroit gets a point for making it to overtime. It's kind of like getting a participation medal, but hey at least it's something.

For blowing a two goal lead going into the third, and for giving a guy on the opposing team a hat trick in the third period alone, the Detroit Red Wings are awarded the Morning After Meltdown.

Morning After Meltdown: Calgary Flames

It hasn't been easy to be the Calgary Flames as of late. They've dropped four out of their last five games, and the one game that they did win was a very close 7-6 victory over Nashville. What was once one of the most promising looking teams in the West, is now a team mired in an early season slump.

Perhaps that is what Flames fans (Flamers?) can take solace in. That it is still early, and that we are still only in November.

Calgary has slid all the way down to 7th in the West, and have seven teams within five points behind them. Having lost both games this weekend against bitter Western Conference rivals Columbus (3-1) and Chicago (6-1) doesn't make it any easier in a very competitive West.

So the Morning After Meltdown is awarded to the Calgary Flames who have looked anything but on fire over the past week, and who need to turn things around before it's too late and any possible playoff hopes become extinguished.

Morning After Meltdown: Edmonton Oilers

It's hard to win a game when you're down 5-0 at the end of two periods. The Edmonton Oilers tried, but not showing up for the first 40 minutes really hurt them.

When the Pittsburgh Penguins jumped out to that 5-0 lead, it looked like the game was locked up, over with, kaput! Then the Oilers put together a great four goal run in the third but just couldn't notch that fifth one to tie it up. So it definitely was locked up, over with, kaput! Boy, I really like writing the word kaput.

Smart thinking by the Pens though to bury the Oilers early and build up such a lead as to prevent any late game comebacks. Too bad for Edmonton that Mathieu Garon couldn't catch a cold in net, let alone a puck during the first two periods of Thursday night's affair.

So even though they scored four goals in the third period, it still wasn't enough after getting blown out during the first 40 minutes. And it's for this reason that the Edmonton Oilers are awarded the Morning After Meltdown.

Morning After Meltdown: St. Louis Blues

It was a rough night for the St. Louis Blues. Not only did they lose 5-2 on Wednesday, but to add to their woes, Blues' leading scorer Paul Kariya left with an undisclosed lower body injury in the second period and did not return.

Scoring got off to a quick start in the game when Sammy Pahlsson of the Ducks scored a breakaway goal just 36 seconds after the opening faceoff.

St. Louis tied it 2:34 later. Patrick Berglund forced a turnover in the Ducks zone and swept a backhanded shot around Hiller, who made his third start of the season for Anaheim.

The Blues have had a rough go of things lately. After a 4-1 record to start the season, they are now in a 1-5 slump. The curse of Sarah Palin hard at work.

So for continuing their impressive early season curse related collapse, and for possibly losing the best player on the team for who knows how long, the St. Louis Blues are awarded the Morning After Meltdown.

Morning After Meltdown: New Jersey Devils

Perhaps losing Martin Brodeur not only makes the Devils are a worse team on the ice, but from the looks of things, it also might screw with them mentally.

The Devils were shut out 2-0 by the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night, and looked pretty flat the entire game. It also helped that Sabres 'tender Ryan Miller put in a brilliant performance to earn himself the shutout.

For the Devils, you can't blame the loss on replacement goalie Kevin Weekes. He was the best player on the ice in a New Jersey uniform. Even Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff thought so.

“I thought he (Weekes) made the difference early or we would have run away with the game,” Ruff said. “Kevin played a great game in the first period he probably made I’d say seven quality saves and kept them in the game.”

So for looking shaky in their first full game since Brodeur's elbow injury, and giving Devils fans everywhere a panic attack just thinking about what the next few games might hold in store, the New Jersey Devils are awarded the Morning After Meltdown.

Morning After Meltdown - Monday Morning Edition: New York Islanders

Welcome to the Monday morning edition of the Morning After Meltdown! I hope your weekend was a productive one filled with watching hockey and neglecting spending any time with family members.

The Morning After Meltdown award on a Monday is a special one, because it means that out of all the games and all of the teams that played over the past two days, these guys were the worst.

Now as bad as the Rangers 5-2 choke job to the Maple Leafs was on Saturday, even worse was the performance by another New York team.

It was the Islanders who put forth the ugliest showing on the weekend. Sure, the game started out great for them. They even made it into the third period with a 4-1 lead. But then at that point things went like a kid on a toboggan. Downhill fast.

During that third period, Les Canadiens exploded and scored four unanswered goals against former Habs goalie Yann Danis to complete and unbelieveable 5-4 victory.

I was watching that game and I started to wonder if Montreal maybe let Danis go and sign with Long Island just to sabotage the Isles for all of their future matchups with the Habs.

So for choking worse than a kid allergic to peanuts who just ate a Reese's peanut butter cup out of his Halloween treat bag, the New York Islanders are awarded the Morning After Meltdown - Monday Morning Edition.

Morning After Meltdown: New Jersey Devils

For this morning's Morning After Meltdown, I'm really reaching. So keep that in mind and keep your criticisms to yourself you wisenheimers.

There were only three games in total on Wednesday night, and unfortunately none of them were blow outs. All the final scores were within two goals. So after much consideration and deliberation, I have decided to award this dubious distinction to none other than the New Jersey Devils.

Why you ask? Well even though they still did get a point in their 6-5 shootout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the very fact that they still lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs is unforgiveable in my books. For shame!

Also, today (October 30th) is what's officially known as "Devil's Night." The night where no good punks go out and toilet paper your front yard. That'll show you for handing out apples last year at Halloween!

So for losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Devil's Night Eve, the New Jersey Devils are awarded the Morning After Meltdown. Hey, it could've been worse. I could've toilet papered the front yard of the Prudential Center.

Morning After Meltdown: Atlanta Thrashers

On Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Atlanta Thrashers got thrashed (Yay for cheesy puns) 7-0.

It was ugly. We're talking Sarah Palin trying to get through an interview ugly.

“We weren’t ready, and from the start we didn’t have the effort we wanted,” Atlanta forward Colby Armstrong said. “There was a couple of good bounces for them, but at the same time the game was there for us. After they got up a few, we just kind of folded the tent.”

Hey Colby, I've got news for you. "A couple of good bounces" is when a team wins a close one and just edges you out by a goal or two. Instead, the Flyers blew you guys out 7-0 and made you look like fools.

To make matters worse, Thrashers net minder Kari Lehtonen was left in net for all seven goals. That's embarrassing. Also, promising Atlanta d-man and the third overall pick in this year’s draft Zach Bogosian didn’t return after Philly's Darroll Plowe slammed him into the boards midway through the second.

So for calling this one in and getting blown out 7-0, the lowly Atlanta Thrashers are awarded the Morning After Meltdown.

Morning After Meltdown: Buffalo Sabres

Going into Monday night's game between the Sabres and the Sens, it looked like it would be a cake walk for Buffalo. They were only one of two teams left yet to lose in regulation, had the best defensive stats in the league, and were facing an Ottawa team that was mired in a four game losing streak.

Once things were all said and done though, it was not the Sabres who looked like the better team but rather it was Ottawa, who walked out of HSBC Arena with a 5-2 victory.

All game long the Sabres looked completely out matched. The Sens seemed to pass and skate circles around the entire Buffalo roster. At one point I could have sworn that Ottawa was playing against a team of pylons wearing Sabres uni's.

Maybe Buffalo wasn't focused from partying too hard earlier in the day after being awarded the 2011 World Junior tournament. Then again, that's probably not it at all.

So for turning in an unexpected disapointing performance in what should have been another game to go in the win column, the Buffalo Sabres are awarded the Morning After Meltdown.

Morning After Meltdown: The NHL

Usually the Morning After Meltdown is reserved for a team or player that did so terribly the night before, that it is my duty as a hockey fan to point out their terribleness in this daily segment.

Only one problem. There weren't any games on Sunday. None at all.

Instead the NHL decided to have all 30 teams in action on Saturday and give them the day off on Sunday. Why you ask? Well as to not compete with Game 4 of the World Series.

Oh yes, you know that exciting ratings juggernaut that is the 2008 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays? That's why they couldn't play any hockey games! Honestly, I'm a baseball fan and I forgot that thing was still going on.

The NHL isn't alone in this scheduling head scratcher though. The NFL didn't have any Sunday night games either. They had Sunday afternoon games, which maybe the NHL should've considered.

So for leaving me with nothing to watch on Sunday night besides the God awful boring Phillies-Rays World Series, or the now past it's prime Entourage, the NHL (notably it's scheduling department) is awarded the Morning After Meltdown.

Morning After Meltdown: Pittsburgh Penguins

The Tampa Bay Rays weren't the only team in professional sports choking and giving up a lead late in the game on Thursday night. They were joined by the Pittsburgh Penguins who blew a 3-0 lead and ended up losing 4-3 against the Washington Capitals.

Pittsburgh led 3-0 less than two minutes into the second period against Washington on power-play goals by Malkin, Alex Goligoski, and Miroslav Satan, with Satan scoring with a two-man advantage, only to be shut out the rest of the game. Caps netminder Jose Theodore made 23 saves to improve to 13-4-1-1 against the Penguins.

“We kept pushing and pushing,” said Alex Ovechkin, who didn’t score a goal for the second successive game. “Maybe we were sleeping the first two periods, I don’t know, but we weren’t playing our hockey. The first period we were terrible, we were giving them lots of chances to score goals.”

That all changed as Washington outshot Pittsburgh 21-6 in the third and on goals from Tomas Fleischmann, Alexander Semin, Michael Nylander, and the game winner from Boyd Gordon.

I bet if you would have told Pens fans before this game that Pittsburgh would lose despite Alex Ovechkin not scoring and being up by three goals late in the game, they would have admitted you right to the crazy house as punishment. Or just forced you to spend three days in Pittsburgh. It's pretty much just as bad.

Congratulations Pittsburgh Penguins! For your big collapse, though not the biggest in all of sports Thursday night, you are awarded the Morning After Meltdown!

Morning After Meltdown: Anaheim Ducks

Hey Anaheim Ducks. Is everything alright? Is something wrong or bothering you? Maybe that not so fresh feeling?

Either way, fans in Anaheim (as if there are people in Anaheim who care about hockey) would like you to wake the hell up as they're not impressed with that 0-4 record to start the season.

A lot is expected from you guys this year. Many season predictions had you doing pretty darn well. I had you finishing 5th in the West. But going at the pace you're at right now, you might be looking at drafting John Tavares 1st overall in Montreal.

To make matters even worse, you lost to Kevin Lowe's Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night. Something I'm sure your GM Brian Burke did not want to happen at all. Not that he could have said anything about it, or Gary Bettman might have had a little fit, what with that whole gag order thing.

So Anaheim Ducks, due to your 0-4 start and your craptastic performance this early in the season, you are awarded the Morning After Meltdown.

Morning After Meltdown: Jarome Iginla

We're going to mix things up today and give the Morning After Meltdown to Jarome Iginla, captain of the Calgary Flames.

Not because he had a particularly bad game against the Avs on Tuesday night. In fact he had a goal, and an assist, and was named third star of the game. The reason why he gets the meltdown is because of what completes the Gordie Howe hat trick, he was in a fight.

Now I don't mind if you're down in the thid period and your team is behind and you drop the mits with the other team's tough guy to send a message. But Iginla didn't do that.

Iggy got into a fight with no name Cody McCormick at the end of the first period and put his team in serious jeopardy.

What happens if Iginla busts a knuckle or even worse breaks his hand during the fight? Then he's out for a good while rehabbing his broken paw and the Flames are left in limbo without their best player.

Flames players and fans will tell you it was a gutsy performance by Iginla, but to me it was just dumb. Let a third or fourth line guy do the fighting not your star player.

So for putting the Calgary Flames at risk by getting into a fight and possibly breaking something, Jarome Iginla is awarded the Morning After Meltdown.

Morning After Meltdown: Vancouver Canucks

It was not a good game for the Vancouver Canucks in their 5-1 loss against the Washington Capitals on Monday.

The night started out on a good note with the Canucks scoring on their first shot, but after that everything went downhill fast.

The Caps scored five unanswered goals and we're able to hold Vancouver to only 10 shots all game long. Two in the first period, one in the second, and seven shots in the third.

The frustration especially got to Canucks player Willie Mitchell who threw his stick at Caps forward Michael Nylander who then scored on the resulting penalty shot.

Even in net the Canucks were shaky, as the usual rock solid Roberto Luongo was pulled after 40 minutes and back-up Curtis Sanford played the third.

So congratulations Vancouver Canucks! Out of everyone in the entire NHL, you stunk the most last night to win the Morning After Meltdown.

Morning After Meltdown: Toronto Maple Leafs

Not much is expected from the Toronto Maple Leafs this season, and I think we found out why after watching their 6-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

The season started out on a promising note for the Leafs, with a surprising win over defending Cup champs Detroit. But the clock struck 12 on the possible Toronto cinderella story when Montreal came rolling into town.

Anyone who lives in Ontario hears the Leaf management always advising fans not to expect too much this year. And if they put in the type of performance that they did Saturday night all season long, it's easy to see why.

The Leafs looked totally helpless, out of place, confused, out worked, and as if they didn't even belong on the same ice as the power house Habs. It looked like an exhibition game between an all star NHL squad and an AHL team who just got back from an long, exhausting bus trip.

So congratulations Toronto Maple Leafs! Out of everyone in the entire NHL, you sucked the most last night to win the Morning After Meltdown!

Morning After Meltdown: Jose Theodore

You only get one shot to make a good first impression, and Jose Theodore blew that chance with Capitals fans in a 7-4 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers on Friday night.

Theo signed a two year deal with the Caps in the off season and has big shoes to fill in the capital, taking over for Cristobal Huet and longtime Washington netminder Olie The Goalie Kolzig.

However he didn't get off to a good start as he didn't even make it past the second period when he was tugged after letting in four goals.

So congratulations Jose Theodore! Out of everyone in the entire NHL, you sucked the most last night to win the Morning After Meltdown.

Morning After Meltdown: Detroit Red Wings

Welcome to a brand new feature here on The Power Play. It's called Morning After Meltdown and will be where I highlight the biggest loser, disappointment, team and/or player who stunk up the place the most from the previous night.

Well brace yourselves because the first ever Morning After Meltdown goes to the Detroit Red Wings.

It should have been a glorious night for the Wings and their fans. They raised their Stanley Cup Championship banner and were playing against the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have been predicted by many to finish around the bottom of the league. It should have been a guaranteed, money in the bank win.

Instead, the Red Wings roster, with the exception of Tomas Holmstrom who scored both goals, looked bored and put in a weak effort, resulting in a 3-2 loss to start the season.

Congratulations Detroit Red Wings! Out of everyone in the entire NHL, you sucked the most last night to win the Morning After Meltdown.