Ryan Smyth known affectionately to Oiler fans and teammates as “Smytty” played his final game in the NHL last night. Smyth and the Oilers faced off against the rival Vancouver Canucks for one last time in Rexall Place before the long offseason begins.

The big story in this one was Ryan Smyth, who would wear the ‘C’ for the first time in his Oiler career thanks to a classy move by the injured Andrew Ference. From the moment he announced his retirement on Friday afternoon, Smyth has been soaking it all in.

"I soaked every moment of it in," Smyth said. "It was an awesome experience that I will never forget for the rest of my life. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of putting on this jersey, and any jersey in the NHL. To see the fan appreciation from the start to the end; they are the best fans in the world. I am thoroughly honored to stand up here and say I enjoyed every moment."

Smyth entered his final NHL game tied with Glenn Anderson for 1st all time in power play goals for the Oilers, each with 126 goals. With 7:10 minutes of ice time on the power play alone, Smyth’s’ teammates and coaches were doing all they could to get number 94 the record in his final game. Unfortunately for Smyth it wasn’t meant to be, he retires tied with Glenn Anderson. The feat in itself should be celebrated. When looking at the names that played for the Oilers in the glory years of the 80s; Gretzky, Kurri, Messier, Anderson, Coffey, Ryan Smyth should be proud of his accomplishment. Smyth was able to tie the record with a cast of players that was never close to those of the 80s, and in a era of the game that was nowhere near as offense driven as the 1980s were.

"I obviously wanted to get that goal," Smyth said. "It would have been a fitting night to do it. But I am still honored to share that record with Glenn Anderson…”

The Oilers beat up on the Canucks on Saturday night, eventually winning this one 5-2. Taylor Hall had three assists on the night and became the first Oiler to reach 80 points in a season since Doug Weight scored 90 points in the 2000-2001 campaign. It was a remarkable year points wise for Hall, as he works hard to round out his overall game. When Hall entered the league he was known as a goal scorer mainly, since then he has worked hard to become a two-way left winger who is just as dangerous making a pass as he is taking the shot. With 27 goals and 53 assists Hall has certainly become a playmaking threat for the Oilers.

Ben Scrivens finished the season on a high note making several spectacular saves and stopping 40 of 42 shots that came his way.

When the game ended the tears continued to flow from Smyth, fans, media and teammates alike. The entire Vancouver Canucks team returned to the ice lead by Captain Henrik Sedin to congratulate Smytty on a wonderful career, a classy move to say the least. Smyth took his time circling the ice one last time, waving to every fan in the arena with tears flowing freely.

It was an emotional goodbye, the kind of goodbye expected from the heart and soul of the Edmonton Oilers.