BLOG: No dwelling on defeat

NASHVILLE, TN - With only eight matches in their regular-season schedule left to secure their berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Oilers have to put tough losses in the past, and quickly.
That lesson doesn't change whether you're coming off a big win or a tough defeat, and the Oilers regrouped for Wednesday's practice at the Centennial Sportsplex in Nashville after falling well short of victory in Tuesday night's 5-1 defeat to the Minnesota Wild.
"I think it's an understanding of never getting too high, and we've had some really good games too… and if you don't win, not getting too low," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "Just managing that kind of even keel.
"We've made a point of talking about the day's business and trying to take care of what's immediately in front of you, and that happens when you win games and when you don't win games as well. You move on to the next challenge."

The Oilers are 12-3-2 in their last 17 games and aren't letting the feeling of a humbling defeat in the State of Hockey linger long into the next day with their focus now fully on earning a valuable two points against another team with strong playoff ambitions in the Nashville Predators.
When there are 82 games of the regular season to trudge through in order to earn a shot at the Stanley Cup, it can eat you up if you're not quick to hit the reset button.
"It comes naturally to a lot of guys at this level," 35-year-old veteran Derek Ryan said post-practice on Wednesday. "You get here, you're playing so many games so often, and you're just back at it. It just feels like you have to have that mindset or else you'll get overwhelmed. You can't sleep at night. It'll just take over your life, so you have to kind of flush it every night."

While it was one tough result, players like Ryan are keen to point out it's one defeat in a stretch of good performances where the Oilers have established themselves as one of the prime Pacific Division contenders for a playoff spot.
"The home game against Colorado, that whole California road trip, we played really well and got some important points there too," he said.
"We did that on the California road trip where we had a big win in Anaheim, a big win in San Jose, then we had a big game in LA and we couldn't be dwelling on those two previous games. It's no different after a loss. No matter what the score was, you're flushing it and getting ready to move on and build to be playing your best game at the end of the season."
Tuesday night proved the Oilers a good glimpse as to just how precise the entire roster needs to be in order to win in this league consistently. It's a hard knock one day before it becomes a lesson the next.

"A hundred per cent. Especially against a good team like that going into a rink like that where it's really hard to play well, it's really hard to win, and give credit to them too they played really well," Ryan said.
"It's something where every single night, every single game, it's a huge task and a huge battle. We're doing everything we can do be at our best, and sometimes you're not at your best. So you've got to learn from that and learn what you have to do differently to be prepared mentally and physically. Then, you do that next game.