They made it all the way to the conference finals against the powerful and eventual Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers, but lost in five games.

They were plagued by injuries throughout the season and lost the second most man-games to injury, with only the last place Edmonton Oilers losing more.

However, the Bills quest for a third consecutive Super Bowl suffered a major setback when they lost the final game of the season to the Houston Oilers.

The Oilers reached the Avco World Trophy finals, where they lost to the Winnipeg Jets in six games.

Colorado lost in the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Edmonton Oilers in seven games, after having led the series 3 – 1.

Dave Semenko of the Oilers scored the last goal in WHA history in the third period of the final game, which the Oilers lost 7 – 3.

The Oilers lost most of the players from 1978 – 79 when the NHL held a reclamation draft of players who had bolted to the upstart league as they were allowed to protect two goaltenders and two skill players.

The Oilers even lost their head coach, as John Muckler left to become head coach and general manager of the Buffalo Sabres.

During the first game, the Oilers blew a 3 – 0 lead, lost Dwayne Roloson for the series after Roloson suffered a knee injury, and lost 5 – 4 when Rod Brind ' Amour scored after backup Ty Conklin misplayed the puck.

Having lost so many players, though, the Oilers only posted a 32 – 43 – 7 record in 2006 – 07 ( their worst record since the 1995 – 1996 season ) and finished in eleventh place in the Western Conference.

Throughout the season, the Oilers lost various players to injury and illness.

Souray earned the respect of fans, teammates, and local media in Dallas very quickly for his physical style of play and booming shot, and restored some of the goodwill that had been lost due to his spat with the Oilers.

In the playoffs, Bourque led the team to the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers in both 1988 and 1990, where the Bruins lost in both series.

On November 4, 2006, one day after the Oilers lost to the Dallas Stars due to an apparent blown call in the last five seconds of the third period by referee Mick McGeough, MacTavish was fined $ 10, 000 for expressing his anger after the game, referring to the call as " retarded ".

After the Oilers lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champions 3 straight years, two consecutive AFC championship game losses to the Steelers, followed by a Wild Card loss to the Oakland Raiders, Adams fired Phillips.

The Oilers lost to the Dallas Texans ( 20 – 17 ) in that year's AFL title game.

The Oilers never recovered and ultimately lost the series, while Calgary went on to the Stanley Cup Finals.

He would be the first of four captains to lead the Oilers to the Stanley Cup finals, in 1983, where they lost to the New York Islanders.

The Flyers lost the Stanley Cup Finals twice, in to the Edmonton Oilers in seven games, two months after One Liberty Place opened, and in, in a four-game sweep by the Detroit Red Wings.

They made subsequent appearances in the second round, losing 4 – 0 in 1993 to the eventual Calder Cup champion Cape Breton Oilers, and lost the second round in their remaining appearances, all of which were won by the conference champions for the season, losing 4 – 2 to the Moncton Hawks in 1994, 4 – 3 to the Hamilton Bulldogs in 1997, and 4 – 0 to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in 2002.

The Bills were without future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly ( who was injured in the last game of the season, a loss to the Oilers ), All-Pro linebacker Cornelius Bennett and lost starting running back Thurman Thomas to a hip injury, and the Oilers jumped to a 28-3 lead by halftime.

Two hours after the Oilers won the Stanley Cup in 1988, Gretzky learned from his father that the Oilers were planning to deal him to another team.

The Cup finals were against the Edmonton Oilers, the first time in NHL history that two former WHA franchises had played against one another in the finals.

In 1997 – 98, Joseph led the Oilers to another first-round upset.

In 1997, the Houston Oilers relocated to Tennessee, for one year in Memphis and another year using Vanderbilt as their home field.

The Oilers responded angrily, and a nasty media exchange followed, with the team ultimately placing Souray on waivers in the hope that he would be claimed by another NHL team so that Edmonton would no longer be on the hook for the remainder of his contract.

The following season, in 2006 – 07, Niedermayer was joined on the Ducks ' blueline by another Norris Trophy-winner, Chris Pronger, who was an integral part of the Ducks ' playoff defeat to the Oilers.

He appeared in his second NHL playoffs, another quarterfinal series against the Dallas Stars in which the Oilers were once again eliminated four games to two.

In 1996, he re-joined the Oilers as a free agent, and played another full season.

He later worked as an assistant coach or coordinator with the New England Patriots from 1985 to 1988, then with Brown University in 1989, followed by another two years at the University of Colorado from 1991 to 1992, then two years with the Denver Broncos from 1993 to 1994, followed by five years with the Houston Oilers / Tennessee Titans, then a year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ( 2000 ) where he served as offensive coordinator and posted a Buccaneers team record 388 points in a season, and a year with the Buffalo Bills ( 2003 ).

But Moon struck right back, leading the Oilers on a second quarter scoring drive that was nearly identical to their first one, completing 6 of 7 passes on another 80-yard drive and finishing it with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Webster Slaughter.

Later on, with 1: 15 left in the half, the Oilers drove for another touchdown, aided by an encroachment call against the Bills on fourth down and 1.

Perry recorded another interception on the Chargers 38-yard line on the ensuing possession, and Boobie Clark ran for a 1-yard touchdown to give the Oilers a 10-7 lead.

Anderson played the 1994 – 95 with the St. Louis Blues and split the 1995 – 96 between the Blues and the Oilers, and played only another 68 regular season and 17 playoff games after being a member of the Rangers ' Cup-winning team in 1994.

Smith captained the Edmonton Oilers to a largely unexpected run to the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, in which they faced the Carolina Hurricanes, another dark horse team.

During their tenure with the Oilers, Tikkanen let go with a particularly colorful pronouncement, after which another player turned to Kurri and asked, " What did he just say?

Messier issued a public trade demand during the Canada Cup tournament saying that he wanted out if the Oilers were not willing to do what was necessary to keep important players.

Although his single year contract expired, his role on the Oilers had become more important and Brewer expected a large raise for his third season with the Oilers.

In addition to the important role he played in taking the Bills to four consecutive Super Bowls, Reed is remembered particularly for his contributions to the Bills ' extraordinary January 3, 1993 playoff victory over the Houston Oilers, a game that has come to be known simply as " The Comeback.

He soon became an important part of the Oilers, playing on the team's first line with Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri.

* Canadian hockey player Wayne Gretzky's rise to fame in the NHL would coincide with the Edmonton Oilers ' first 4 Stanley Cup championships ( 1984, 1985, 1987, & 1988 ) and becoming the second NHL dynasty team of the 1980s.

* Rob Carpenter, NFL player New York Giants, Houston Oilers

ABC News Reporter Christen Craig as well as sports figures Jerry Sloan ( former basketball player and head coach for the Chicago Bulls and former head coach of the Utah Jazz ) and Carl Mauck ( former center for the Houston Oilers and NFL coach ) were also born there.

* Rich Ellender is a professional football player He spent one season with the Houston Oilers, which drafted him in the ninth round of the 1979 NFL Draft.

* Ernie Ladd, football player for Grambling University under Eddie Robinson, professional career San Diego Chargers, Houston Oilers and Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs ( 1970 ); professional wrestler known as " The Big Cat "

* Walter Suggs, former professional football player Houston Oilers

He has been a part of the NFL for 25 years, including 10 years as a player for the Houston Oilers.

* Bill Herchman-former professional football player for 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and Houston Oilers

* Kevin Hunt, NFL player ( offensive lineman ) for Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, Houston Oilers, and New Orleans Saints

Heatley also set the record for being the youngest player to score a hat trick in the All-Star Game, a record previously held by the Edmonton Oilers ' Wayne Gretzky.

Charles Taylor Hennigan, Sr., known as Charlie Hennigan ( born March 19, 1935 ), is a retired American football player with the former Houston Oilers who resides in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Mark Napier was the only player that played for both the Oilers and the Canadiens during his NHL career and won Stanley Cups with both teams.

* Mike Rogers ( ice hockey ) ( born 1954 ), NHL hockey player, Hartford Whalers, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers

* Dustin Penner, professional ice hockey player for the Anaheim Ducks, Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings.

On March 22, 2008, Sakic recorded his 1000th career assist against the Edmonton Oilers, becoming the 11th player in NHL history to reach this milestone.

He won six Stanley Cups, five with the Oilers and one with the Rangers, and is the only player to captain two different professional teams to championships.

The older brother of NHL Veteran Rob Niedermayer and cousin of Edmonton Oilers defenceman Jason Strudwick, Niedermayer is the only player to win every major North American and international championship in his career ; he has won the Memorial Cup, World Junior Championship gold, IIHF World Championship gold, two Olympic gold medals, four Stanley Cups and the World Cup.

Near the beginning of the 2007 – 08 season, in an October 8 win against the Edmonton Oilers, Lidström registered two assists, passing Peter Forsberg as the second-highest scoring Swedish-born NHL player of all-time.

The one-time head of a business empire that spanned auto dealerships, food-processing companies, real estate, a trust company and professional sports teams, Pocklington is perhaps best known as the owner of the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers and as the man who traded the rights to hockey's greatest player, Wayne Gretzky, to the Los Angeles Kings.

* Gene Babb, President, National Football Scouting Inc .; former player for the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Oilers, and San Francisco 49ers

When Kurri arrived to the Oilers he was soon paired with Wayne Gretzky, a phenomenal Canadian centre and arguably the greatest player of all time.

Kurri was " by far our most complete player ," according to Oilers ' director of personnel Barry Fraser.

* James Stephen Smith ( born 1963 ), ice hockey player for the Edmonton Oilers, Chicago Blackhawks, and Calgary Flames

His younger brother Rick Olczyk is a former hockey player for Brown University and is currently an assistant general manager for the Edmonton Oilers.