Oilers coach Knoblauch not seeing 'enough desperation' to start season

EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers are not far removed from the previous time they lost three games in a row.

Though they managed to win the next three on that occasion, losing Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers seems to still have a lingering effect.

Edmonton dropped to 0-3-0 with a 4-1 loss to the Calgary Flames at Rogers Place on Sunday and is not playing at the required emotional level, according to captain Connor McDavid.

"Probably not," McDavid said. "We are getting beat in a lot of battles. We're getting beat in a lot of different ways."

The Oilers have been outscored 15-3 in their first three games. They were shut out 6-0 by the Winnipeg Jets in the season opener and lost 5-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.

The core of the roster is the same, but the intensity level and desperation is not where it needs to be, Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said.

"It's something that obviously we have to play with, a bit more desperation, and I think when you had a season like we did last year and coming back and the expectations being really high, I don't think there's enough desperation," Knoblauch said after the loss Sunday. "I think we just show up, play hockey and [think] that's good enough, but this game is about playing with desperation, and right now we're lacking that."

Throughout the preseason, McDavid and the Oilers veterans talked of turning the page from the disappointment of the 2-1 loss to the Panthers in the deciding game of the Final. It was as painful a loss a team can sustain in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Moving on from it is proving to be more difficult than perhaps anticipated.

"It's probably easier said than done," defenseman Darnell Nurse admitted. "At this point, the season's started and to a man there's no excuses. We're on to the next one."

The next one is against the Philadelphia Flyers in Edmonton on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN1, ESPN). From there, the Oilers go on the road for two games, at the Nashville Predators on Thursday and Dallas Stars on Saturday. They believe they will see the best from all three teams as the weight of expectations has made them a target this season.

It comes with the territory of being considered a favorite to win it all.

"We need a little more life, a little more juice out of our group," Nurse said. "There are plenty of us that can bring it, and we need to do it on a daily basis."

Whether that is a switch Edmonton can flip or something that needs to be built up gradually remains to be seen. The last thing the Oilers want to do is dig themselves into a hole, similar to the 2-9-1 start from last season, yet the mistakes are being repeated early on this season.

"Puck play has been bad all over," McDavid said. "Puck play has been, guys fumbling it and not handling passes, in the air, passes behind guys. It's just not good enough in terms of the puck play. When you are not clean with the puck, it's tough to get the offence."

The Oilers worked out of the bad start last season, but it took a coaching change and a franchise record 16-game winning streak to do it. They are not interested in going down that road again in their quest to win the Stanley Cup.

"Nobody wants to lose, everybody is going out there and working hard," forward Zach Hyman said. "It's about bringing a level of urgency though and doing your job and doing what you need to do and understanding that everybody else is going to go out and do their job. We're not playing up to our standard."

Traditionally, Edmonton thrives on adversity.

It climbed from the bottom of the overall standings to second in the Pacific Division last season. After losing the first three games of the Final, the Oilers managed to come back and force Game 7 against the odds.

They were unable finish the job, and the theme going into this season was to take the last step. So far, it's not going to plan, but while there is some concern, Edmonton is confident it can turn things around.

"We're not quitters in here, we never have been," McDavid said. "Losing three in a row right off the bat is not ideal, but it's nothing we can't work out of."