What now?

What happens next for the Edmonton Oilers after they were so thoroughly exposed Saturday night by the Colorado Avalanche?

What becomes of a team after it loses 9-1 at home, on national television, in a game it had three days to prepare for against an opponent it vowed to get up for? What is the response when a team bails out 15 minutes into the first period of a measuring stick game because the going got tough?

Was that tragic comedy at a Rogers Place the rock bottom moment that spurs this team back to life, or did we just witness the beginning of the end, a two-time finalist, stripped of too many key ingredients, lacking in too many key areas, finally running out of gas?

“It was a humbling night for everybody in this organization,” said captain Connor McDavid, whose club has four wins in its last 13 games and has allowed four or more goals eight times in that span.

“There’s a belief in the room that we’ll always figure it out. That being said, enough is enough.”

Worst home ice defeat

If a conference rival handing you the worst home ice defeat in franchise history isn’t enough, nothing is.

So, here we are at the fork in the road. And, while many hockey experts have sounded the alarm bells in November, only to have his words shoved down his throat in April, it’s starting to look like this time might be different.

First of all, it IS different. This isn’t the same team as last year, not even close. They swapped out five of their 12 forwards and three others are currently injured. This is not the same group that went to the final last year, or the year before.

This is a .500 team that’s fallen behind 2-0 in six of its first 16 games and blown two-goal leads in six others. It’s a team that’s given up a goal in the first minute of the third period four times already. It’s a team whose goaltenders are currently rocking .889 and .836 save percentages, a grave situation made worse by defencemen who look absolutely lost out there.

It’s a mess.

“It’s not acceptable right now,” said defenceman Jake Walman. “We’ve got to figure it out, like now.”

‘Just a little bit more’

And beyond the numbers, it’s the intangibles that are most lacking. The Oilers have been lifeless all season. They lost much of their spine when the likes of Corey Perry and Evander Kane left and now there is nobody who understands, or seems willing to do, what it takes to inject life into a moribund team or light a fire under a stagnant game.

There is nobody to deliver the big hit, or the big fight. Nobody to get under the other team’s skin. Nobody to bump the other goalie. Nobody who acts like they hate losing.

“Even if it’s not in your nature to play a physical game, you have to try a little bit,” said McDavid, well aware that the Oilers seem to be lacking in passion. “We all have to have a hand in bringing just a little bit more, emotionally, physically and to our game overall.

“You don’t need to run anyone through the end wall or drop the gloves with anybody, just bring a little bit of that emotion, that chatter, that energy, bring your legs. Skate, work, win battles. We haven’t done enough of that.”

‘Great warning to the group’

McDavid also admits the Oilers are victims of their own success on the confidence front, assuming this thing is going to turn itself around because it always does.

That’s a dangerous way to think, especially for a totally different team than the ones who turned it around before.

“There’s lots of belief in the room that we’ll figure it out, so we’ve kind of let things get to this point,” said McDavid. “I think last game is an accumulation of a lot of different things. It’s a great warning to the group (about what happens) when you’re not ready to roll. It’s humbling and we stand better for it.”

They can take solace in the fact it’s only November, but November doesn’t last forever. Right now the Oilers are 12th in the West based on points percentage and staring down the barrel of a seven-game road trip. This is fast approaching time to worry.

Starts with coach

“It starts with myself, holding guys accountable because things haven’t progressed like they have in previous years where we’ve gone through a poor stretch and things improved,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch. “Right now things haven’t improved.”

That means turning the heat up a little bit on a group that seems to be too casual about how it starts a season and players who maybe takes their ice time for granted.

“Maybe we need to be a little more direct, a little more forceful with a little more accountability,” said Knoblauch. “We need to alter how we’ve addressed things. It’s worked out really well the previous two years but this year, this is the longest stretch of us not playing hockey that I’ve seen. So we have to evaluate how we handle things.”

E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com

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