Inconsistent Oilers fall flat in loss to Sabres
Edmonton’s best players look ordinary against one of the NHL’s worst teams
BUFFALO Lip service. That’s pretty much all the Edmonton Oilers have been offering for weeks now.
They talk a good game, but they can’t play more than one good game in a row.
They trounced the Red Wings in Detroit 24 hours after getting their butts kicked in St. Louis, so there was a pulse throughout their lineup Wednesday. But facing the Buffalo Sabres, who hadn’t won in almost three weeks, predictably there was no rinse and repeat.
Instead, it was a dismal 3-1 defeat.
They didn’t get a puck past Robin Lehner until there was just 16 seconds left to play. This against a team that had been plundered for 79 goals in their previous 22 games.
There was a tic, but seldom a tac or any toe to their passes against the Sabres, who had won two of 10 home games coming into Friday night.
By now it’s obvious. The Oilers are exactly where they should be in the standings.
While the expansion Vegas Golden Knights won again Friday to improve to 14-6-1, the Oilers, who seem to have misplaced last year’s work ethic when they earned 103 points, are 8-13-2. They sit 14th in the West, 29th overall, one spot ahead of the Sabres.
“Same story after every win. We don’t follow it up with a win,” said Connor McDavid. “I don’t think it was effort at all, we were just sloppy. We were never in sync, anyone at any time, little passes that are usually easy to make, we couldn’t complete them. We’re a group that’s out of whack.
“We need to get on a roll. We get the result in Detroit and we had high hopes tonight, but couldn’t get going.”
So, after crushing Vegas 8-2, the Oilers lose the next three by a combined 18-7.
They blitz Detroit 6-3, and fall to a team that hasn’t been able to beat anybody.
They didn’t dictate the game like they did at Little Caesars Arena. The urgency was also there in Detroit. But Buffalo had more will to win on Friday.
“I think (our urgency) can be better, but if our group thinks that’s enough, then we’re on the shortend. Our guys have the want to do it, but can we get it done at the pace we’re executing? Our guys have to execute much quicker defensively and offensively,” said Oilers coach Todd McLellan.
“Working hard is one thing, but using that effort and executing and sustaining is another. We had some guys who worked hard, blocked shots, took some hits to make plays, but not enough. We’re disappointed in a few guys who were playing upwards in the lineup, even some of the guys who got minutes at the end of the game.”
Some of Edmonton’s best players were not their best players, for sure, against the Sabres.
When asked before the TV cameras how he thought Leon Draisaitl had played, McLellan looked at the media interrogator who’d popped the hard question and pointedly said: “You know what? Ask me tomorrow.”
That says it all. He wasn’t happy, even though he played Draisaitl 18 minutes.
Draisaitl was on the ice for Buffalo’s first goal by Jacob Josefson from the high slot, 14 minutes into the second period. But, he wasn’t the only big Oiler who had a tough time. After stealing Jack Eichel’s thunder two years ago here with an OT winner, the No. 2 player picked in the 2015 NHL draft outplayed the No. 1 selection, McDavid.
McDavid, who’s been playing even though sick, lost all eight of his draws. McLellan put Mike Cammalleri with him in the third period to juice things up and Cammalleri, who took some draws for McDavid, showed some veteran patience with the puck.
“He (McDavid) didn’t get a lot of space, we kept him to the outside,” said Sabres coach Phil Housley. “Jack’s made a choice to play the right way the last few games. He was physical, active in the offensive zone, he was very determined.”
In the end, this was a team loss for the Oilers, though. You can’t just hang it on the big guys.
Goalie Laurent Brossoit played because starter Cam Talbot was ill and defenceman Oscar Klefbom didn’t dress because he was under the weather.
“(Brossoit) made some really good saves. Any goalie in the league would like to have the second one back, but we can’t just focus on just that one,” said McLellan. “We have to look at his overall performance and it was pretty strong.”
I don’t think it was effort at all, we were just sloppy. We were never in sync ... We’re a group that’s out of whack.