Knoblauch: Winless Oilers lacking desperation
Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch lamented his team's lack of urgency after the Calgary Flames defeated the Oilers 4-1 to improve to 3-0-0 while handing their arch-rivals their third straight home loss to start the season.
"Obviously, we have to play with more desperation," the Oilers bench boss told reporters postgame. "When (we) had a season like we did last year, and coming back and the expectations being really high, I don't think there's enough desperation.
"I think we just show up, play hockey, (and think) that's good enough," Knoblauch continued. "But this game's about playing with desperation, and right now, we're lacking that."
The Oilers had a pair of goals called back on reviews in the defeat - the first for goaltender interference and the second for an offside violation. Edmonton forward Zach Hyman admitted that frustrated the team but insisted it doesn't justify their performance.
"Probably, but there's no excuse," he said when asked if the reversals threw them off their game. "That happens all the time in games. You have to be able to just continue to play well. We scored one goal, so we could do a better job of getting to the net and scoring in the hard areas. Obviously, when things aren't going easy, you have to be able to get to those areas to score."
The Oilers have been outscored 15-3 in their three matchups so far in 2024-25. No other NHL club has allowed as many goals as Edmonton, and no team that's played at least three contests has scored fewer. The Oilers ranked fourth in the league with 3.56 goals per game last season.
Edmonton started the 2023-24 campaign with a 3-9-1 record, at which point the club's brass fired head coach Jay Woodcroft and replaced him with Knoblauch. The Oilers went 46-18-5 after the coaching change and finished second in the Pacific Division. They made it all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, which they lost to the Florida Panthers.
The Oilers will host the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night. The Flyers are 1-1-0 and have been off since they lost to the Flames on Saturday.