Leaders Respond and Losers Sulk: Edmonton Improves Effort Against Phoenix Coyotes
When a player or player(s) in this case are called out, there are two ways in which they'll respond. Either taking the subject of the issue to heart and putting in the extra effort to improve, or pouting, which in turns provides the team with a less efficient player.When Pat Quinn called seven players into a closed-door meeting on Sunday morning, the Oilers could have gone two ways. Their effort against Phoenix could have plummeted showing everyone the Oilers are a group of underachieving cry-babies, or, and was the case on Monday, the Oilers could have come out with a much better effort taking the play to the Coyotes.
This is an issue that surrounds this team in spades. The skill on the Oilers is obvious. It's the want or desire to put in a sold effort per 60-minute game. Mondays game goes a long way to showing that if nothing else, the leaders on this team give a crap.
All four goals were scored by players in that closed-door meeting. Moreau, Hemsky, Souray and Horcoff needed to show the rest of the team not part of the open forum that they were prepared to listen to their coaches.
Had they not, it would have been a horrible lesson for the rest of the team just 25 games into a still young NHL season.
Hopefully the team responds on Wednesday vs L.A. and Friday vs the Sharks where a 100% effort might be the only thing that gets the Oilers back above the .500 mark.
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2 comments:
were we watching the same game? I did notice that there was definitely more effort, here and there, but for the most part, the oilers still got drastically out-played. Hell, Shane Doan could have taken on the whole team himself.....note to Ethan Moreau....that's what it takes to be a team captain in the NHL. Other than the 4 goals we scored...two of which were very lucky ones, the overall team play was still quite dismal with only a few bright spots.
Your argument holds water if you look solely at the third period in which, yes the Coyotes out-shot and out-played the Oilers. There is no denying the Oilers have yet to put forth a solid 60 minute game.
I think if you go back and look at this article again, you'll notice I never once said the Oilers had a good game.
I wrote they responded with effort and jump (which was evidenced by the first period in which the players who were held responsible for more effort came to play)and actually looked as though the game mattered to them.
They'll need to be much better to win the next two games.
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