Connor McDavid had just witnessed his Oilers surrender five goals in the third period against the NHL鈥檚 30th-ranked team.
Edmonton鈥檚 superstar captain also seemed at a loss for words in the wake of another crushing defeat.
鈥淚鈥檓 not sure what to tell you,鈥� McDavid told reporters after dropping a 6-4 decision to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. 鈥淲ork ourselves to a 3-1 lead and give it away.鈥�
Subsequently asked if it represented one of his most frustrating regular-season losses since joining the Oilers as the No. 1 pick at the 2015 draft, the game鈥檚 best player didn鈥檛 skip a beat: 鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely up there.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e just finding ways to lose,鈥� head coach David Tippett added from an increasingly hot seat.
The loss to Ottawa represented the latest setback for a team that expected so much more of itself this season.
Early on, however, the Oilers delivered. While there were some troubling signs, they jumped out to a 16-5-0 start to sit alone atop the Western Conference on Dec. 1.
But Edmonton has gone just 2-10-2 since 鈥� victories Dec. 16 and 18 are bookended by a pair of six-game losing streaks 鈥� and continues searching for answers.
It started anew with a hard practice Monday that included battle drills led by McDavid and top-pair defenceman Darnell Nurse.
鈥淭hose are your big dogs,鈥� Edmonton blue-liner Tyson Barrie said. 鈥淭hat sets the tone.
鈥淚f Connor McDavid and Darnell Nurse are battling and playing against each other hard, there鈥檚 zero excuse for anybody to take any sort of break.鈥�
The players are mostly saying the right things 鈥� Oilers winger Brendan Perlini had a particularly upbeat recent media availability 鈥� but it鈥檚 clear nerves are frayed in the Alberta capital.
Edmonton centre Leon Draisaitl, who鈥檚 one point ahead of McDavid for second in the league scoring race, had a testy exchange with an Edmonton reporter Tuesday.
鈥淲e have to get better at everything,鈥� the German said when asked if there was one specific area the team needs to improve.
鈥淲ould you like to expand on that?鈥�
鈥淣o 鈥� you can do that,鈥� Draisaitl replied. 鈥淵ou know everything.鈥�
鈥淲hy are you so pissy, Leon?鈥� the veteran media member retorted before the back-and-forth continued another 20 seconds.
One facet where Edmonton could do much better is how it starts games.
The Oilers have allowed the first goal an NHL-high 25 times in 35 outings, consistently feeling their way into the action rather than grabbing hold of proceedings.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 been a theme, but the desperation鈥檚 key,鈥� Barrie said 24 hours before Draisaitl鈥檚 uncomfortable media exchange. 鈥淲e鈥檙e in a good position going into the third period (against Ottawa) and we don鈥檛 get it done.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 not a good sign.鈥�
Oilers general manager Ken Holland has never fired a coach mid-season during his Hall of Fame career, but the temperature and pressure to do something to shake things up continues to mount in lockstep with every loss.
Edmonton hasn鈥檛 received adequate goaltending with Mike Smith struggling to stay healthy, Mikko Koskinen underperforming when handed a heavy workload and rookie Stuart Skinner trying to find his way.
The problems, however, run much deeper with a defence corps that still isn鈥檛 good enough and a forward group that continues to rely far too much on McDavid and Draisaitl for offence.
The Oilers, however, insist the answers reside in their locker room.
鈥淓veryone has to look in the mirror,鈥� Edmonton winger Zack Kassian said. 鈥淎nd everyone has to be better.鈥�
Next up for the Oilers? Just a Thursday visit from the Florida Panthers, who sit second in the overall standings, before hosting the Calgary Flames on Saturday.
Despite their warts early in the season, the Oilers always seemed to have a response following a loss.
That feels a lot longer than a few months ago for a team that has just two victories in seven weeks to sit seventh in the Pacific Division 鈥� albeit with games in hand on most rivals because of COVID-19 postponements.
鈥淚t鈥檚 funny 鈥� even games you feel like you鈥檙e playing well in, you don鈥檛 get results,鈥� Barrie said. 鈥淭hen everything starts to tighten up, guys lose their confidence.
鈥淲e have to work our way out of it.鈥�
If they don鈥檛, change 鈥� in some form 鈥� could be coming.
鈥擩oshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
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