Nobody ever said it was going to be easy, Todd McLellan.
The first-year head coach of the Edmonton Oilers saw his team drop another decision Saturday night: 4-1 to the Nashville Predators. They'll have plenty of time to dwell on their third straight loss, as they're off until after the All-Star break, playing next on Feb. 2 versus the Columbus Blue Jackets.
McLellan called out some members of his team following their 26th defeat:
OUCH. "We had some guys who really participated and we had some passengers. The passengers let the rest of the group down" -McLellan #Oilers
— Rob Tychkowski (@Sun_Tychkowski) January 24, 2016
When asked about the Oilers' performance heading into the long break, McLellan was honest.
"I enjoy this group, and I know I can speak for the rest of the staff," he answered, according to the club's website. "It's fun to come to work. It's not fun losing. It gets frustrating. I feel like the fans, I feel like the players do too, but this is a fun group. They come to the rink prepared to get better. They want to get better. They're tired of wallowing and losing. There's not many nights I've had to run in there and yell and scream and swing and kick things around because their intent or effort isn't there. They've been strong that way."
The Oilers are 4-5-2 in the new year, while dealing with several injuries to key players.
"We have to get deeper in a lot of areas of our game," McLellan added. "We need to get deeper as an organization. We need to upgrade a lot of different areas, whether it is strength, size, but also skill level, quarterback on the power play and things like that. We know that, but I've enjoyed my time here so far. I know we're going to get better. I know we are better right now, and I know we're going to get better."
Things are already looking up. When the Oilers return to action to host the Blue Jackets, Connor McDavid will be back, too.
