Article content
Contrary to what’s been happening on the ice, the Edmonton Oilers are talking a good game, at least.
A 2-7-1 record to start a season where their lot in playoff life was projected nothing short of Stanley Cup contention has taken a poor start and magnified it to the point where sky’s are soon falling and heads are soon rolling. At least, for a disheartened fan base that has been through far too much disappointment before things turned around the last couple years.
Advertisement 2
Article content
Article content
And it seems the worm is turning once more.
But you wouldn’t know it the way they treated Sunday’s practice and media availability after getting beat 5-2 by the Nashville Predators the day before.
The moral of the story they’re telling lauds teamwork and togetherness as the way through the less-than-fairytale forest that has so far found them lost in translation.
“It’s little things that matter, right? We say all the right things and we just can’t seem to do the right things right now,” said Leon Draisaitl, who has been unable to step up in the void of productivity that’s being left behind by Connor McDavid, who is obviously playing less than 100 per cent healthy since returning from an upper-body injury.
“And obviously when you’re struggling or lacking confidence in general as a group, it seems to downward spiral much faster than anything else. But every team goes through this, we’ve got to make sure we catch it early.”
Draisaitl — who at one point not so long ago couldn’t miss on the Oilers’ record-setting power play — is on a goal drought that has lasted seven games. He will look to end it Monday night (8 p.m., Sportsnet West) in Vancouver, the scene of the 8-1 crime that started the whole slide back on opening day.
Headline News
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
But head coach Jay Woodcroft isn’t putting it all on the shoulders of one or two individuals.
“They wear the same jersey as everybody else,” Woodcroft said. “I think it’s a lot to ask of just one or two players, they’re in it with everybody else. Collectively, as a group we could be so much better.
“Everybody is giving what they have, but I do think there is a little bit more from the group, collectively. And when the group performs at the level it does and plays toward a certain type of structure, usually that helps every individual.”
Exactly what is going on inside the dressing room and what is being said behind closed doors is anyone’s guess.
“Yeah, I mean, that’s probably not something I want to share with everyone, the conversations we’re having in there, the things that we’re saying. Not that it’s anything private, but that’s our haven in there,” said Derek Ryan. “We’re a tight-knit group and we’re going through a lot of adversity right now and we want to get through it together.
“We’re talking about a lot of the same things you guys are and we’re trying to figure it out.”
In the meantime, the story the Oilers keep telling themselves will continue to have a happy ending. Eventually.
Advertisement 4
Article content
“For us, we are maintaining a positive outlook,” Woodcroft said. “And I got asked last night in the media, how do you maintain that when the results aren’t there? Well, I think when the results aren’t there, you want to make sure you’re going back and looking at everything, seeing things clearly.
“You want to make sure that your process is correct. If you take care of the process and your people are in the right mindset, usually the results takes care of itself. Right now, we haven’t done that long enough, hard enough, or collectively, well enough. And when you don’t do that, you’re sitting with the record that we are.”
E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
Article content
Comments
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.