Evander Kane jokes about Oilers' 0-2 start: 'Sky is falling'
At least one person in Edmonton Oilers nation is staying lighthearted despite the team's less-than-inspiring 0-2 start to the 2023-24 campaign.
"We're dead last in the league - 32. Sky is falling," winger Evander Kane joked Monday, per TSN. "Trust me, I see it; I've been around town. But I think, again, we're two games into our season.
"We've got a .000 winning percentage, we could be at .500 in the next two games, who knows? Our focus is on tomorrow night, getting our first win of the season, getting a good feeling back in the room, and moving on."
The Oilers are one of four teams in the NHL without a point, alongside the Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres, and Florida Panthers. Edmonton has 80 more games to right the ship, but back-to-back losses at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks isn't the start to the season that many would've expected for the Stanley Cup contenders.
"We understand the expectations, the excitement, and, obviously, the desire to win in this city," Kane said. "We all feel the exact same way. ... We want to put our best foot forward. It's not going to be perfect every night - it hasn't been perfect these first two games - but we look forward to getting better as the season goes on."
Edmonton got thrashed 8-1 in Vancouver during its season opener on Oct. 11. The Oilers fared better in a rematch between the Pacific Division clubs three days later but still dropped the contest 4-3.
In Game 2, the Oilers dominated play at five-on-five, controlling 72.5% of the shot attempts, 71.4% of the scoring chances, and 73.3% of the expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick. However, Edmonton managed just one goal at even strength, courtesy of Leon Draisaitl in the first period.
Captain Connor McDavid said his squad showed "lots of good signs" in Round 2 versus the Canucks.
"I thought there was a lot of things we could build off of (from) Saturday's game," he said. "I thought the compete was a lot higher. I thought we did a lot of really good things. You play that game over a few times, you might win."
Like Kane, it seems McDavid is doing his best to stay levelheaded about the Oilers' start.
"A win tomorrow night leaves us at 1-2," he said. "We were 1-2 last year (to start the season), too."
Edmonton will look to get into the win column on Tuesday against the Nashville Predators. Puck drops at 8 p.m. ET.