Mike Babcock called the Edmonton Oilers' 7-2 loss to Toronto on Saturday night a step back, and he didn't sugarcoat why.
“In your own building on Saturday night; that should be automatic,” Babcock said. “Should never get outworked.”
He gave the Leafs their due, too: “The bottom line is they were better. They were better than us.”
Then he turned it on himself. “Jim Hiller had a group playing harder, and I had my group... That's on me.”
The room didn't argue. “They were a better team. They played harder,” Colton Dach said.
Getting run out of your own rink on a Saturday night is like burning dinner with the in-laws watching. Everybody saw it, and nobody's forgetting it.
So what happened to the team that walked in at 8-1-1?
Mike Babcock takes the blame after Maple Leafs dismantle Oilers in Edmonton
Tristan Jarry made 24 saves on 30 shots before Toronto added a late empty-netter.
His save percentage sits at .851 through 4 appearances.
Devon Levi is on IR and expected out until at least November 9.
Stan Bowman needs to find a goalie, and it isn't close. No team gets where Edmonton wants to go with that kind of goaltending.
The stars did their part. Leon Draisaitl scored twice, while Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard each added 2 assists.
McDavid now has 33 points in 11 games. None of it mattered Saturday.
Here's the strange part. The Oilers are 5-0-0 on the road and just 3-2-1 at home.
Kasperi Kapanen called it “a shame.” The blue line numbers say the same thing, with Jake Walman sitting at -7 on a $7,000,000 cap hit.
Mattias Ekholm is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and expected out until at least October 31.
The Oilers' 17 points still share the Pacific lead with Vegas, and they hold two games in hand.
Detroit visits Monday night, and Calgary follows Wednesday before a swing through New York and New Jersey.
Against a Red Wings team coming off a 4-1 loss in Calgary, anything less than a full 60 minutes turns one ugly night into a pattern.
Source : Babcock Calls Oilers 7-2 Loss to Maple Leafs a Step Back: "That Should be Automatic"
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