Bad gets worse as Nashville pushes woeful Oilers deeper in the muck

Nobody would have blamed the Edmonton Oilers for picking up the Nashville Predators at the airport, covering the cost of their hotel rooms, and possibly even giving them a little lunch money, because they were stuck in the mud and in dire need of a break.

Nobody would have blamed the Edmonton Oilers for picking up the Nashville Predators at the airport, covering the cost of their hotel rooms, and possibly even giving them a little lunch money, because they were stuck in the mud and in dire need of a break.

Over the past four years, they have defeated the Predators 10-11-2 for fun, so why not throw open the arms for a well-timed gift to assist them get out of their misery?

Since there is no way out of this suffering.

For the free-falling Oilers, even a visit from their favourite club in the league went sour as Nashville danced to a comfortable 5-2 victory at Rogers Place, where the home team has yet to win a game this season.

“It feels like death by a thousand cuts,” exclaimed Oilers captain Connor McDavid, trying to find an explanation for all of the team’s setbacks. “We lose money when we make a mistake, and it just gets worse from there.” It is difficult to pursue games.

The Oilers are now 2-7-1 after this latest loss, and there is absolutely no indication that things will improve anytime soon.

McDavid went on, “Our struggles are all over the rink.” That’s what being 2-7-1 gets you. Struggles appear to be occurring everywhere on the ice.

There exist. With glum Oilers spending every post-game interview owning up to their faults and emphasising how crucial it is to pay attention to details and play harder, the season is quickly degenerating into Ground Hog Day. And every game ends with the same old mediocre, error-filled outcome.

Winger Zach Hyman stated, “Those are topics that we and the coaches discuss.” But we need to actually get out and do it. There isn’t another response.

It goes without saying that we need to start doing it now that we aren’t already.

“I understand that response would seem absurd, but it is the real deal. We are aware of what needs to be done, but we are not doing it right now.

Following a 1-1 first frame loss to Dallas, the Oilers resorted to their typical strategy of fading badly as the game progressed. They conceded three goals in the second half to trail 4–2, and one more in the third to guarantee their own defeat. In the final 40 minutes of their 10 games this season, they have been outscored 29–13.

McDavid remarked, “It was really similar to the other night (losing 4-1 to Dallas on Thursday). “We were chasing the game, and it’s tough to chase games in this league,” the player said. “I thought we had a good start, but then the mental errors that keep costing us over and over again.”

Like everyone else, head coach Jay Woodcroft was fully prepared for a more determined pushback from a team that was about to collapse. It speaks something about this team’s mental toughness that he didn’t get it.

“We lost a lot of puck battles today, and it wasn’t nice to see,” Woodcroft remarked. “I felt that today’s puck play wasn’t up to par. To a man who is unworthy — from all sides.

Both effort and the capacity to correctly process the game are now lacking. Even though there are still 10 games left, it doesn’t seem like much would need to happen to ruin the season entirely.

“We must remain united if we are to move forward,” Woodcroft declared. The first piece of advice is to stick together and get through it. It has to do with clearing up certain areas of the game. It must be on the defensive end of things right now rather than the offensive end.

The Oilers’ defence, which was supposed to be the main focus of their training camp and early-season efforts, is even poorer than it was the previous year.

They are worst in the league in save % (.861), have given up four goals or more in six of their eight losses, and both Jack Campbell (.878) and Stuart Skinner (.861) are well below the.900 water line. They also rank 28th in goals against.

Additionally, the attacking end of things, particularly the power play, is disappearing. This team’s bread and butter should be scoring goals, but as of right now, all that’s there is an empty counter in the place of the sandwich.

Kevin Lankinen of Nashville defeated a desperate Oilers squad on their home ice, becoming the second backup goalie to do so in as many games.

Even Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid are shadows of their former selves. Draisaitl has now gone seven games without a goal, while McDavid has gone five games without one.

In regards to his play, McDavid stated, “It certainly could be better.” “Not to the standard I hold myself to.”

It’s not just him.

Regarding his two faltering superstars, Woodcroft remarked, “They’ve led the charge for a long time.” “But as a group, we’re not doing well enough right now. Like the rest of us, they are. They are capable of playing better, as is our entire team.