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Taylor Hall: Oilers' frustration level 'probably the highest since I've been here'

Jerome Miron / USA TODAY Sports

Tension is high with the Edmonton Oilers after a fourth straight loss on Saturday, and the one of the cornerstones of the franchise says the level of frustration is reaching a boiling point.

“It’s probably the highest it’s ever been since I’ve been here,” Hall told reporters after a 7-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. “We’re frustrated, the fans are frustrated, I think everyone is. It’s on us, that’s about all you can say."

The loss dropped the Oilers into a tie with the Buffalo Sabres and Columbus Blue Jackets for the worst record in the NHL. Compounding matters was the fact that the humiliating defeat came at home, where the team was booed off the ice.

“It sucks," Hall said. "It sucks for us, it sucks for the fans, for the organization, but we’re going to have to make it through. We try and regroup as best we can. It’s our fault as players and we’re going to have to make up for that.”

Despite the losing streak, the Oilers rank 15th in the league in even-strength Corsi For percentage (according to war-on-ice.com), an indicator that they're a league-average team in terms of puck possession and more importantly, that they aren't as bad as their record.

The schedule doesn't get any easier, though. The Oilers finish up the month by embarking on a three-game road trip, on which they'll face the Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues.

Head coach Dallas Eakins is on the proverbial hot seat, but Hall doesn't think firing him will fix anything.

“Absolutely not. I would be extremely disappointed if that happened. That would be so unfair," he said.

“For Dallas to take the brunt of the blame, that wouldn’t be fair to him. That’s on us as players. It’s what we do on the ice. We get applauded when we do well and on games like (Saturday) we have to take onus on it. It’s not his fault.”

- with h/t to the Edmonton Sun

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