COLUMBUS, OH - A new day brings a new opportunity.
A new opportunity for the Oilers to get back into the win column, that is, after Edmonton was handed a 3-1 defeat from the Detroit Red Wings in the Motor City on Tuesday.
By their admission, both the players and Head Coach Dave Tippett are stressing the need for a strong start in tonight's tilt with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Last night, Edmonton gave up a pair of quick strikes in the first period and weren't able to climb out of the two-goal hole despite owning much of the third stanza with a 17-5 shot margin.
"They were quick. They were on loose pucks and we were a little slow to get on loose pucks," Tippett said of his team's opening performance versus Detroit.
"Especially when you're playing against desperate teams, you got to fight your way through and stay with the game. Not give momentum away. That's been a little bit of a concern."
DESPERATE MEASURES
An 8-4-1 record and first-place ranking in the Pacific Division doesn't exactly scream of a club in desperation mode but a 1-3-1 showing in the past five games isn't comforting, either.
Oilers Captain Connor McDavid said it himself following Tuesday's loss: "We need to be a desperate team. It needs to start now."
Tippett agreed with that sentiment Wednesday morning.
"That desperation has to be on our side," said the Oilers coach. "We talked about it before the game yesterday, we hadn't played very well in two of the last three games.
"We should be the desperate team."
The Oilers are 5-0-0 this season when notching the first goal of the game.
"When you score first, everyone seems to have that juice," Zack Kassian said.
"We need to show that energy and get off to a good start."
DESPERATE MEASURES: PART II
Part of that desperation will have to come on the power play.
After starting the season 10-for-22 on the man advantage in their first seven outings of the year, the Orange & Blue have just one power-play goal in the last six, going 1-for-14.
"We talked about that as a group," Tippett said. "Find some different options. Instead of finding the nice goal all the time, you might have to find some hard goals."
Kassian, who has two assists in his last five games, wants to return to a simple game plan against Columbus.
"When the group isn't scoring as much as you'd like or individually, you just have to get pucks to the net," he said.
"Funnel pucks to the net and everyone has to know on the ice that it's going to the net. That's normally how you break out of things like this."
