Oilers say ‘we have to stick together’ amid skid
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The Edmonton Oilers’ slide continued Thursday night as the New Jersey Devils scored two third-period goals to come from behind for a 3-2 win.
That dropped Edmonton to 37-24-4 on the season and gave them a league-worst eighth loss in their past 11 games. They now sit third in the Pacific Division following a win Thursday night from the Los Angeles Kings.
Defenceman Brett Kulak said after the game that remaining united would be the key to turning things around.
“Everyone knows we’re going through a tough stretch right now and things aren’t easy,” Kulak told Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Journal. “We talk among ourselves in the room and we have to stick together. None of us are happy. We have to stick together and dig ourselves out.”
“It’s a little bit of everything,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said. “Whether that’s the power play or penalty kill. Whether it’s depth scoring or making mistakes. Whatever it is, there are a lot of things we need to improve on.”
After Leon Draisaitl evened the game 1-1 in the second with his league-leading 47th goal of the season, Evan Bouchard gave the Oilers a one-goal lead with a wrist shot that featured Connor McDavid’s 60th assist of the season. But a pair of screened shots from the point by Jesper Bratt and Simon Nemec put the Devils back on top for good.
Knoblauch said he liked the Oilers’ effort Thursday night and thought they played well enough to win.
“It’s disheartening,” said Knoblauch. “I thought our guys put in a really good effort. The first 40 minutes I thought was a pretty even game. The third period I thought we really pushed hard and had a lot of scoring chances.
“The turning point in the third period is turning the puck over in the neutral zone against their top line. It’s our fourth line against their top line and we turn the puck over and they capitalize on it. It’s something that absolutely can’t happen, especially with a 2-1 lead.”
Edmonton’s slide started in early February before the 4 Nations Face-Off, with a narrow loss to the Colorado Avalanche that kicked off five straight defeats. They’re dropped games to weaker teams throughout the skid, including a 6-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Feb. 22 and a 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres earlier this week.
Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner told Dan Rosen of NHL.com Wednesday he could see the adversity being good for the team in the long run.
"As a team, we've talked about it and we think it can be the best thing for us, going through something difficult and going through adversity before the big stretch," he said.
"This could be perfect for us, going through this, having to battle it out, a good time for us to come together as a team and figure things out, so when the time comes again – and it always does – we know how to deal with it."
The Oilers won’t have much time to reflect on their struggles as they remain in the New York City area to play Islanders Friday night. The Isles are going through a rough patch of their own having lost seven of their previous 11 games.