BATTLING BACK
Knee injuries can’t keep volleyballer off the court
What a week.
The three games between a bye in their schedule and the NHL All-Star Weekend break turned into a powder keg of emotions for the Edmonton Oilers and their fans.
The week began with an adrenalin shot when the Oilers carried their momentum through the break and beat Vancouver 5-2. It deteriorated into anger and embarrassment after they mailed it in against the Buffalo Sabres. And it ended with emotions erupting all over Rogers Place during a wild and controversial shootout win over the Calgary Flames.
It was a lot of intensity packed into three nights and when the mood swings came to an end Thursday night, with Connor McDavid scoring the shootout winner after the overtime winner had been disallowed, then pointing upstairs to ask if the referees wanted to review it and make sure, everyone in the building was completely spent.
And despite how bad things looked after the 5-0 Buffalo debacle, the Oilers head into the break feeling rather good about themselves.
“I know the (Buffalo) game was a bad loss but we can’t lose sight of the fact we’ve won four of the last five,” said winger Milan Lucic. “And if we continue winning four of five down the stretch to the end the year we’re giving ourselves a chance to get back in it.”
The math makes sense; it’s the execution that’s been lacking this season, hence the wide range of emotions over that three-game slice of life.
When a team is picked to perhaps win the division when the season starts, and finds itself 10 points out of the playoffs more than halfway through the campaign, the mood in the stands is understandably tense.
As much as the fans here were thrilled with what happened against Calgary, a lot of them are wondering where that determination was against Buffalo.
The leash is understandably short and it’s going to be like that for the rest of the year for a team with zero room for error.
“It’s no secret that we haven’t played that well at home this year so I think it is warranted, yeah,” goalie Cam Talbot said of the frustration in Edmonton. “We haven’t given them a whole lot to cheer for lately. We have to give them a little bit more. I think everyone in this room has another level to give at home here.”
McDavid understands underachieving in a Canadian market will always result in a torrent of wrath and venom. It comes with the territory and he doesn’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing. The blow-up after Buffalo probably helped light a fire under the players against Calgary.
“Some guys handle it differently than others,” McDavid said. “Some guys can fold up but I don’t think our team does that. We obviously deserve all the criticism we’re getting. I think for a lot of us it’s motivating. You want to shut people up. You’re in your own building and you’re hearing the boos, that can be embarrassing.”
Having said that, McDavid adds it’s important the Oilers don’t let any black clouds linger inside the dressing room. Once the players get as moody as the fans, it’s over.
“Being positive is important,” he said. “Every team goes through dog days, especially in January and February, but we don’t have that (luxury). We have to find a way to keep everything going.”
Head coach Todd McLellan is at a loss to explain why the Oilers are so listless and lethargic some nights and look like last year’s team on others, but he knows the wolves are at the door.
“It’s happened three nights since Christmas (5-0 losses at home) so the approach that we’ve used (to get the players motivated) isn’t exactly the answer,” he said, adding he agrees with McDavid that pressure from the fans and media might be helpful.
“You guys have made my job a little easier pointing out the lack of drive and will. Players hear that. We can all say we turn it off but we hear that and we feel it. That should be motivation enough. We get a lot of external motivators as well as internal ones.”
With 35 games worth of rollercoaster still to come, it should be interesting between now and April.
“Hopefully, we can get rid of these single game letdowns and ride the wave here,” said Ryan Strome. “We know what’s in front of us but if we play like we have in four of the last five games we’re going to be all right.”