A 5-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings has guaranteed that the Edmonton Oilers will finish the season dead-last in the NHL.  With 55 points and only six games remaining, it is now mathematically impossible for the Oilers to catch the Toronto Maple Leafs, who sit in 29th spot with 69 points.  This marks the sixth time in the last eight seasons that the Oilers have missed the playoffs.

The silver lining to this awful season is that the Oilers are guaranteed a top-two pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft in June.  The Oilers have a 48.2% chance of winning the draft lottery and picking first overall.  Should they "lose" the lottery, they can only drop one spot and would still select second overall.  It is widely speculated that centre Tyler Seguin of the Ontario Hockey League Plymouth Whalers and winger Taylor Hall of the OHL Windsor Spitfires will be the top two players drafted in June.

A 6-1 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes set a new Oilers record for futility, as the team lost 10 straight games on the road for the first time in franchise history.  The Oilers had previously lost nine road games in a row between February 25 and April 5, 2007. 

The month of January, 2010 will go down as a period of infamy for the Edmonton Oilers franchise, as the team set a number of dubious records:

• The Oilers losing streak reached 13 games (0-11-2), setting a new franchise record.  The previous record was 11 straight losses, set between Oct. 16 and Nov. 7, 1993.
• For the first time in franchise history, the Oilers lost every game in a calendar month, going 0-10-2 in the month of January.
• For the first time in the history of the Battle of Alberta, the Oilers were swept in their season series against the Calgary Flames.  The Oilers picked up a single point in the season series with a 4-3 shootout loss back on Oct. 8.