"F*cking not good enough": Oilers' Woodcroft blasts team after poor effort

The 2023-24 season hasn’t gotten off to the start the Edmonton Oilers had hoped for, and was continued on last night in a disappointing loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Facing off against a Flyers team they are more than capable of beating on any given night, the Oilers stunk up the joint and fell by a 4-1 final. They have now given up 16 goals in their three losses this season, which seems to have left head coach Jay Woodcroft befuddled. The 47-year-old appeared to be more frustrated than we have seen in his Oilers tenure when speaking with the media last night.

“Not to our standard, certainly,” Woodcroft began. “F*cking not good enough. Excuse my language.

“I thought our game lacked urgency today. I thought I didn’t see second and third effort in all areas of the game, from up and down our lineup. Not to our standard. As I said to [Oilers reporter Tony Brar] we play towards the standard, and it wasn’t there for us tonight. That’s disappointing. It’s going to have to get fixed.”

The Oilers other two losses on the season came in their first two games against the Vancouver Canucks, another team they should be more than capable of beating. Coming into the season as Stanley Cup contenders, Woodcroft’s squad now owns a 1-3-0 record and will need to get things back on track in a hurry.

Scoring the lone goal last night for the Oilers was Zach Hyman, with Cody Ceci and Connor McDavid picking up the assists. While Leon Draisaitl was held pointless, it’s hard to blame him given he has had an excellent start with seven points on the season. That said, others have struggled immensely early on, including Evander Kane, who is without a goal, and newcomer Connor Brown, who has yet to put up a point.

The Oilers have a chance to right the ship tomorrow night as they get set to take on a Winnipeg Jets team that has also struggled out of the gates with a 1-3-0 record. Like the Oilers, they too have had difficulty keeping the puck out of their net, as they have given up 19 goals on the year.

Puck drop between the Oilers and Jets is set for 8 pm MT.

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