Edmonton Oilers: Is This 5-Game Losing Streak Going To End?
By Warsame A
The Vegas Golden Knights trashed the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 on Thursday night. The losing streak continues for the Oilers, so who’s to blame for this downward spiral?
What can we say about the Edmonton Oilers that hasn’t been said this season? They are a shell of themselves and most importantly seem to be playing like a minor hockey league team. It’s harsh but let’s face it; the truth needs to set in for one of Canada’s beloved franchise.
After the drumming they took against the Vegas Golden Knights last night, the question does remain for this team: will they stop the bleeding? You would think that facing the team they have beaten twice this season would end their four-game losing streak—but that wasn’t the case at all.
Motivation
To anybody watching that game last night would say that the Edmonton Oilers weren’t playing to win—just only to survive. It’s a weird concept to fathom, but that team didn’t want to compete, and it has nothing to do with “a lack of talent” that a lot of experts like to point out.
It’s hard to say if the team has quit on their coach, but it’s hard to argue otherwise in this five-game losing streak. If you look at nearly every category in February—the Oilers are in the bottom ten except in face-off win percentage.
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That’s the only positive that the Edmonton Oilers have been doing well in—especially against the Golden Knights last night. Winning 63 percent off of their face-offs compared to the Golden Knights (37 percent) is impressive, but it’s a hollow stat in their blowout loss.
What’s the point of winning face-off battles if you don’t capitalize on those possessions? Taking 29 shots and only managing one meaningless goal when the game was already over is not only just sad but also disheartening.
Defense
Defensively speaking, the Edmonton Oilers did absolutely nothing in trying to stop the opposition in getting scoring chances. Look at all the scoring chances that the Golden Knights had and how the Oilers defense responded—they seemed like they were disengaged in most of those plays. That’s a reflection on coach Todd McLellan and his staff on not preparing their team for this game.
If the team is matching the same energy level as the opposition than the fault lies with the head coach. Fans have been saying it all year-long, but the media has had deaf ears on this specific subject. Maybe it’s time to give the fans their due for calling on it very early in the year.
So tomorrow afternoon the Edmonton Oilers will be facing the worst team in the league—the Arizona Coyotes. Nobody is expecting much from the Oilers except winning this game by any means. They need to display that they are a functioning NHL team that is willing to compete not only for themselves but also their fanbase.
The Oilers need to show a sense of urgency on both ends of the ice and demonstrate that they can stop the bleeding. This five-game losing streak must end tomorrow against the Arizona Coyotes.
If the Oilers can’t get the job done against the worst team in the league, then this team will cross a point in no return for the direction of this franchise.