PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Blue Jackets

The Edmonton Oilers look to respond in their final game of a two-game homestand on Monday night at Rogers Place against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

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PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Blue Jackets

EDMONTON, AB – You win as a team, you lose as a team.

And it's going to take everyone bringing more than they've given so far to get on track and respond to Saturday's defeat.

"We talk about it in here, but it's everybody trying to bring something," Connor McDavid said after Sunday's practice at Rogers Place. "Even if it's not your nature to be the loudest guy, you gotta try a little bit. If it's not your nature to play a physical game, you gotta try a little bit. We all gotta have a hand in bringing just a little bit more emotionally, physically and to our game overall as a whole.

"Everybody has a little bit more to give, and I'd expect everybody to have a good one tomorrow."

Following a humbling 9-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, the Edmonton Oilers are looking to raise the intensity and get more out of everyone to elevate their game to an acceptable standard when the Columbus Blue Jackets visit Rogers Place on Monday before embarking on a season-long seven-game road trip.

“I guess the reaction is just to learn from it and move on,” McDavid said. “You learn from it and it motivates you. It was a humbling night for everybody in this organization and for the players, so a great opportunity for us to dust ourselves off and get back at it.”

Saturday’s heavy defeat to the league-leading Avalanche for the Oilers tied their worst-ever result on home ice and dropped their record to 6-6-4 this season.

The energy and execution weren't there for the Oilers after the mistakes that've contributed to their slow start this season had them picked apart by the NHL's hottest team in the Avalanche, who scored eight even-strength goals and one shorthanded despite going 0-for-7 on the power play.

But most of all, it was a firm reminder that their game has so far not met the standards they expect of themselves past the 16-game mark of the campaign.

It was a hard lesson, but one the Oilers were prepared to accept as a veteran team in need of a wake-up call following another slow start ot their regular season – knowing by the level they've reached over the past two years with two straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final that it isn't acceptable.

"There's a lot of belief in the room that we will figure it out," McDavid added. "So we've kind of let things get to this point, and I think last night is the accumulation of a lot of different things. Last night was a great warning to the group of what happens when you're not ready to roll in this league.

"It's humbling, as I said, and we stand better for it, but we gotta move on."

During Sunday's practice, the Oilers put the onus on each other to bring a little bit more to the table, challenging one another to be that much better by channelling some of that frustration from their 9-1 loss to the Avalanche into positive action for when they face off against the Blue Jackets on Monday.

"I think everybody as a whole wants to be better, myself included," McDavid said. "Everybody has more to bring. So you start seeing some of that in practice, and it's got to translate into games. It's normal to have conversations with guys about different things we're seeing out there. The game has felt at times unorganized and out of sync, so you only figure that stuff out through talking and communicating with your teammates."

Moving on quickly with a win on Monday will be paramount for the Oilers, who depart on a season-long seven-game (13-day) Eastern road trip on Tuesday and will take on some tough opponents that include the Florida Panthers on Oct. 27 in a rematch of the 2024 & 2025 Stanley Cup Finals.

"We have to put that behind us, and that road trip is going to be a grind," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "It doesn't get much harder than that, playing those quality teams and the amount of travel and the amount of games that we're playing, and it makes it a lot nicer to have a win going out on the road.

"But also, just playing the right way. The process is very important. It's not just the results. You need wins to make the playoffs and move up the standings, but right now the focus is on doing things the right way."