Oilers coach calls out issues at every position after blowout loss to Sabres
Photo credit: Walter Tychnowicz - Imagn Images
With the one comment he made following last night's loss to the Sabres, coach Knoblauch described what the Oilers must do to improve moving forward.
Coach points to defensive-zone coverage as problem
No, I don't think it's been the same. It was a little bit different tonight. Usually we've been giving up a lot of chances off the rush, tonight that wasn't the case. I thought we did a pretty good job of that.
Defensive zone, they had us running around. Just whether we're getting beat to the net or just not being aggressive enough. We're so tight in the middle, just letting them walk around. Unfortunately, not seeing a pattern.
We want to work on things like our breakouts and o-zone play. There's a lot of things that - we can get better. A lot of things to clean up.
- Coach Knoblauch
Defensive zone, they had us running around. Just whether we're getting beat to the net or just not being aggressive enough. We're so tight in the middle, just letting them walk around. Unfortunately, not seeing a pattern.
We want to work on things like our breakouts and o-zone play. There's a lot of things that - we can get better. A lot of things to clean up.
- Coach Knoblauch
We've been hearing for some time now how defense has been one of the issues with this Oilers' club, and it was again last night. At some point, however, the coach needs to figure out what exactly has to happen for it to get better.
So far, he hasn't been able to. He's tried benching players, switching-up d-pairings, and reducing ice-time; yet, the same mistakes continue to occur.
Even Stan Bowman thinks defense has been weak.
«The defence, they haven't played a consistent game this year. And I think that's probably the biggest disappointment so far. The play of our D is really important in getting the rest of our game going.
The next game is against the Capitals in Washington. Hopefully, the coach will have 'cleaned-up' what needs to be and aim for a win.
The next game is against the Capitals in Washington. Hopefully, the coach will have 'cleaned-up' what needs to be and aim for a win.
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