"We're seven points out": Oilers' Woodcroft seeing positives despite ugly start
The Edmonton Oilers have gotten off to a pitiful start this season, but head coach Jay Woodcroft is still doing his best to put a positive spin on things.
Many expected that the Oilers’ 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night would spell the end of Woodcroft’s tenure in Edmonton, but he will once again be behind the bench tonight versus the Seattle Kraken.
Woodcroft would never deny that the 2-9-1 start is unacceptable for a team that entered the season as Stanley Cup contenders, but he isn’t giving up yet. The 47-year-old pointed out that despite how doom and gloom things appear, this group is still very capable of clawing their way back into a playoff position.
“I’m excited about our opportunity today,” Woodcroft said. “I think we had a good practice yesterday and have an opportunity to play a divisional opponent. We talked about it yesterday; we’re seven points out of a playoff position. It’s weird to talk about that in November, but it’s not a position we haven’t been in before. When Dave [Manson] and I first came up, [we were] seven points out. We have experience of clawing our way back, but it starts with one game, and that’s tonight.”
It’s hard to pinpoint why the Oilers have started out so poorly. While many will bring up goaltending, there have been several other issues as well. The entire team’s defensive play has been unacceptable, and their top offensive stars have been unusually quiet. As Woodcroft pointed out, however, there is still reason to remain positive. With 70 games remaining on the schedule, there is more than enough time for this talented group to turn things around and get back to being one of the better teams in the NHL.