Just got back from the game, I have no voice left. Say what you will, but that last 10 minutes of the game they poured their heart out to get it close, and I have a ton of respect for them for it. Sat next to some Oilers fan who were great, and some Canucks fans that were losers (zero cheering/telling me to stop jumping up & down in the last 5 minutes), but the crowd overall (especially given the terrible first 30 minutes) was amazing.
I think by the end of the series, and when everyone reflects back on it, the talent gap between the rosters was pretty apparent. We took some massive steps forward this year, but this reminds me after the 2009 and 2010 series where you could see the gap between a 2nd round exit roster vs one that goes all the way (the Oilers aren't the barometer for context, its the Stars/Panthers I'm referring to). The Oilers top end was better than ours, and our depth wasn't at the level it needed to be to make up for the gap.
The culture has been reset, the core guys are in place, we have arguably the best coaching staff in the league, and now it's about making sure we have the right pieces around them to take it to the next level. Important lessons for Petey + Hughes to make sure there game is where it needs to be when we're in this spot again.
Bummed we couldn't sneak one more W in there to get to that conference final, but I'm incredibly optimistic that this is the start of something amazing brewing for the next 2-3 years.
