Knoblauch: 'Little bit of everything' going wrong for Oilers during skid

Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch believes his club is suffering from a long list of problems after losing for the seventh time in 10 games on Thursday.

"I guess a little bit of everything," Knoblauch said following the Oilers' 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils. "Whether that's the power play or penalty kill. Whether it's depth scoring or making mistakes. Whatever it is, there are a lot of things we need to improve on."

Edmonton's skid comes on the heels of the 4 Nations Face-Off break. The Oilers were two points off the Pacific Division lead with a game in hand upon returning but have fallen to third place and sit one point behind the Los Angeles Kings and seven from the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Oilers have picked up just six points since the break to sit at the bottom of the NHL standings while ranking 21st in goals for and 30th in goals against.

Leon Draisaitl (15 points) and Connor McDavid (13 points) have led Edmonton's attack during the rough patch. No other Oilers forward has more than five points.

Knoblauch united his two superstars on a line Thursday against New Jersey and noted that some players are having difficulty finding chemistry with the core pieces.

"I've noticed there's other guys on our team - as nice as it is to play with a McDavid and Draisaitl - they get away from their game," Knoblauch said. "They're a little bit reluctant to do what's made them successful. They just defer. When they're away from them, playing with other guys, their game is a lot simpler, a lot more direct, and a lot more efficient."

The Oilers return to action Friday against the New York Islanders.