Connor McDavid was highly complimentary of the coaching on Saturday night, only it wasn't his own coach he was complimenting. Speaking after a 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, McDavid said, "They're a great team, with a lot of great players over there. They're perfectly coached. They all know what they're doing all over the ice; it's impressive." He doubled down a minute later, saying the Lightning are "extremely well coached, they're extremely well organized, they're very, very rehearsed in everything that they do. It's very impressive, very, very impressive, and when you do break them down, they've got a heck of a goalie there to backstop them." TRENDING STORIES: Oilers Lose Draisaitl, Pick Up Solid Win Over Predators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/oilers-lose-draisaitl-pick-up-solid-win-over-predators] Oilers Push Lurking Sharks Further Back In The Playoff Race [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/oilers-push-lurking-sharks-further-back-in-the-playoff-race] Pre-game Stats: Oilers Vs Lightning [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/pre-game-stats-oilers-vs-lightning] When asked if the Oilers can get to that level of organization and that impressive with their system, McDavid responded, "That's a coaching question. You can ask Knober [Knoblauch] that question. You know, obviously, we've been playing together a long time, and we feel like we're somewhat rehearsed and organized, but not to that level." When someone did ask Knoblauch that question, he awkwardly paused, almost uncertain of how to answer. "I don't think so. I think the organization is fine." He added, "We've got a lot of new players right now with the injuries that we have; we've got some turnover. I think they had, obviously, Hedman being out. They've been together a long time, their group. Our core guys have been together a long time too, so you know, when things are going well, things look organized..." WHAT WAS MCDAVID TRYING TO SAY, IF ANYTHING? There was clearly frustration after the loss. That context should likely be taken into consideration when trying to decipher what these comments mean. It would also only be right to point out that McDavid has grown quite close with Jon Cooper, who has coached him twice at an international level. It's understandable that McDavid would have high praise for the Tampa bench boss and what he's built there. At the same time, discounting how much it feels like the questions in Edmonton, and that the coaching approach this season needs answers, would be overlooking a critical part of the equation. There's a sense here that the coach and the players aren't on the same page. After the Oilers lost a stinker to the Florida Panthers, Knoblauch said he thought he saw a solid effort from his group. That's not the sense I got from the players in that room. To the Oilers' credit, they came out with more energy on Saturday night. Vasily Podkolzin takes it to Anthony Cirelli Photo by © Perry Nelson Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/91e82b14-3cf6-4762-8bfb-6679b1177697.jpeg] Vasily Podkolzin takes it to Anthony Cirelli Photo by © Perry Nelson Imagn Images After the Tampa loss, there was at least some sense of togetherness. The team stood up when Evan Bouchard took a hasty hit, targeting Pontus Holmberg until he answered the bell. Darnell Nurse and Vasily Podkolzin both took a run at one of Tampa's best players in Brandon Hagel. When Anthony Cirelli stepped in to defend Hagel's honor, the former quickly learned that Podkolzin is no slouch when it comes to fisticuffs. Unlike against the Panthers, this team battled. Their first line just wasn't as good as Tampa's top line and McDavid wasn't as good as Nikita Kucherov, who finished with four points and has 99 in his last 46 games. The Oilers are lucky they didn't lose ground in the standings. Every Pacific Division team also lost on Saturday. Now, as they go out on the road and play some of those divisional rivals, the wins really count. They'd better be organized, or the Oilers will find themselves in playoff trouble. Bookmark The Hockey News Edmonton Oilers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/] team site to never miss the latest news [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news], game-day [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/game-day] coverage, and more [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/players]. Add us to your Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwn-DfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] favourites, and never miss a story.
