It has been a turbulent start to the 2023-24 season for head coach Jay Woodcroft and the Edmonton Oilers from their 1-4-1 record to the injury of their captain Connor McDavid. Despite their record, the third-year bench boss is not ready to break the glass and call it an emergency.
was the latest installment of the lopsided losses the Oilers have endured and the third loss of the season to have been by three or more goals. The first was an 8-1 loss to the"I think things get magnified when your record is what our record is," Woodcroft said Wednesday."If you're sitting at 4-1 heading into last night's game, you'd chalk last night up to a bad period," he said in reference to the five goals the Oilers surrendered in the final frame.
"We can get past the mad and be solutions-based or problem-solving based... We have to take a step, but talk is cheap. We have to show it," he said. "Through five games, I thought our play was better than our record shows," Woodcroft said on the play of his defence. "I thought there were individual errors within games that led to losses."
Shifting to McDavid and the hole that the absence the three-time Hart Trophy winner has left in the lineup in terms of flexibility and roster construction, Woodcroft said that's still no excuse."Last game, we went 11 and seven . But for me, my focus is not on what I don't have, my focus is getting the most out of what I do have," Woodcroft added.