For anyone dusting off old tropes and pointing fingers at one area of the Oilers game on Tuesday, head coach Mike Babcock wasn't having it.
Say what you want about the Edmonton Oilers—people already are. But the team and new head coach Mike Babcock know the effort they put forward in their 2026-27 season opener against the Vancouver Canucks simply won’t cut it.
A 6-5 overtime loss has already given fans and analysts plenty to dissect. Some are pointing to the goaltending and wondering whether the Oilers are in serious trouble with Tristan Jarry in net. Others have dusted off the familiar “two-man team” argument, centered around Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Evan Bouchard has even taken heat despite scoring a hat trick and recording five points, with some questioning whether his game is too heavily tilted toward offense.
Then there are those chalking up the loss to karma for the Alex Formenton signing, while others argue the shine is already wearing off on Babcock and that a more direct bench boss can’t simply change what the Oilers have at their core.
Pick a trope. There are plenty to choose from.
To Babcock, none of that matters. “Playing like that, getting away from the way we have to play, is unacceptable for us,” he said. “We have to set a better standard for ourselves.”
For those blaming Jarry, Babcock wouldn't bite. He knows that Jarry wasn't good. Even with some key saves at the start of the game and in overtime, Jarry let in too many softies, picking up where he left off following a disappointing 2025-26 season. When asked about Jarry's game, Babcock said, “Well, I mean, obviously that was pretty clear. Everyone knows that, so we might as well move on."
Babcock also knows Jarry's teammates let him down. “Our part is to play way better. That was ridiculous,” Babcock said. “If we want to play like that, we’re going to be chasing the game.”
Babcock also wouldn't entertain the idea that Bouchard was an offensive machine, but not solid in the areas where it mattered most: defense. This loss wasn't on Bouchard. Far from it. “He had a good night, but you can’t have a guy with five points and lose the hockey game,” Babcock said. “It just doesn’t make any sense. We can talk about these guys and talent, but we have to do things right as a group.”
Yes, McDavid and Draisaitl were relatively quiet. While each got on the scoresheet, there were questionable decisions and times that both players were forcing the issue, trying to make something out of nothing. Ryan Rishaug called McDavid's night "ho-hum", but credit to the Canucks, they did a good job of suffocating him.
One of the narratives in camp and preseason coming from the coach is that this team's focus will be on depth and making everyone important. “We’re going to end up having good depth. Right now, there’s a great opportunity to show what you have so you can earn yourself a spot in the regular lineup each and every night, and we probably didn’t take good enough advantage of that.”
As for Babcock? He was always aware of the job that lay ahead of him.
“I don’t think I thought for one second it was going to be easy. But tonight was an indication we have serious work to do.” Babcock understands that there are tendencies in the way the Oilers play that have to be removed from their game. And, as the saying goes, it's harder to shake bad habits than to form new ones.
“We started fine. But playing like that and getting away from what we’re supposed to do is unacceptable for us. So we’ve got set a better standard for ourselves.” When told that fans and media in Edmonton have seen this story before, Babcock quipped, "I haven't."
The coach wouldn't even allow for excuses on the injury front. It was mentioned that the Oilers were missing key players in the likes of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jason Dickinson, Matt Savoie, Frederik Andersen and others. "No, no we weren't," he said as he shook his head.
There's no time for excuses, tropes or fingerpointing. Under his watch, it's just about doing to work to get better.
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