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.
They fell flat against the Sabres, who had won just 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 ... 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. 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 short end. 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.
Leon 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 Entry Draft outplayed the No. 1 selection, McDavid.
McDavid, who’s been playing through an illness, lost all eight of his draws.
“He (McDavid) didn’t get a lot of space, we kept him to the outside,” said Sabres coach Phil Housley.