The Edmonton Oilers have been Jekyll and Hyde all season long. The moves at the trade deadline brought some hope, but even then, the Oilers have failed to take advantage of teams slipping up in their division.
The Oilers’ most recent loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning proved particularly painful, in what was a stark reminder of the gulf in quality between the two teams. Connor McDavid admitted as much in the aftermath of that 5-2 loss, pointing at Jon Cooper’s elite coaching credentials.
When a player of McDavid’s stature waxes lyrical about another head coach, eyebrows are bound to be raised. Many took McDavid’s comments as a shot at Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch, but Edmonton’s captain wasted little time setting the record straight.
Connor McDavid Makes His Feelings Clear on Comments on Oilers HC Kris Knoblauch
After all that was said after the 5-2 loss at Rogers Place, McDavid was bound to be asked about the reaction to his take. Speaking to reporters on Monday, March 23, the Oilers captain stressed that he wasn’t playing the blame game.
“We’re not taking shots. It’s just everybody can be better, myself included,” McDavid said.
“Everybody can be better. It was more just complimentary of a great team in this league that came in and played a good game. Nothing more than that.”
The Oilers captain added that he was a bit surprised by how those comments snowballed into perceived criticism of his head coach. “It wasn’t supposed to be that way. But I understand how people could look at it that way, but it’s not what I was intending to do at all.”
On Saturday night, Nikita Kucherov racked up two goals and two assists for Tampa Bay, going past McDavid in the NHL’s scoring race. After that loss, the Oilers found themselves second in the Pacific Division after Vegas, Los Angeles, San Jose, and Seattle all joined Edmonton on the losing board. The Golden Knights climbed back up to second after beating the Dallas Stars last night.
“It’s a bit of a pillow fight right now, but thankful to not have lost any ground,” McDavid said of the NHL standings after the loss. “That being said, we have to find a way to win some games here on the road.”
McDavid himself gave rise to some concern on Monday afternoon, leaving practice midway through the session. However, the Oilers captain allayed fears of an injury, informing reporters that he was fine. “Just hips and groin stuff,” said the Oilers’ skipper.
The Oilers will now embark on a two-game road trip beginning on Tuesday at Delta Center against the Utah Mammoth, followed by a big showdown against Mitch Marner and the Golden Knights on Thursday.
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