There were some hard truths told to the Edmonton Oilers over three days of intense practices and video room scrutiny this week, after two back-to-back losses over the Thanksgiving weekend.
The man telling those truths was head coach Todd McLellan, who was as gruff publicly as he’s ever been in his time with the Oilers.
“We were very direct with players. There wasn’t a lot of hugging going on. There was a lot of kicking.”
“The messages weren’t veiled,” centre Mark Letestu said. “They were pretty direct. Guys got it. We’re professionals here. We want to win hockey games. He’s trying to get that out of us. We earned what we got the last three days. It’s up to us now to change the narrative.”
Normally the Oilers losing two straight wouldn’t be cause for concern, but they were generally sloppy and outworked in both games.
“You don’t want to share you negative thoughts, but my gut told me we would have to fight through this at some point,” McLellan said. “I was hoping it would be a little bit later, maybe we’d get a few wins in the bank and get comfortable. That wasn’t the case.”
“I’ve seen him snarly,” added Letestu. “He’s been disappointed in us before. It felt like letting your dad down.”
“Every coach has it. I think as players, we deserved it,” winger Milan Lucic said. “Sometimes a hard truth is what you need to get your team game going again.”
The Oilers will try to get back in the win column Saturday night hosting the Ottawa Senators. However, they’ll be without one of the top offensive players. Leon Draisaitl hasn’t skated all week because of an eye issue.
“He won’t be playing tomorrow, but he’ll be walking around the rink,” McLellan said. “You look for the guy with the black eye and that’ll be Leon. He’s got a black eye. We’re waiting to hear a little bit more on his condition and how it affects his head.”
Rookie Kailer Yamamoto is expected to be on the right wing with Connor McDavid and Patrick Maroon. Defenceman Yohann Auvitu will likely make his Oilers debut, filling in for the slumping Matt Benning.
WATCH BELOW: Following Monday’s loss to the Jets, Oilers coach Todd McLellan said it’s a good thing his team has a few days before their next game. Quinn Phillips reports.
Catch the Oilers and Senators Saturday at 8 p.m. on 630 CHED.