I'm worried about our team's compete level. Not in the sense that they don't care or try, because they do (maybe with the exception of Brouwer). But it just seems like they can never ratchet up the intensity in big games like the playoffs, or against the ducks, or against the Oilers.
Where was the fire last night? You can say it's only one game and that's true, but it's against a provincial rival, that has to count for something. It certainly seemed like the Oilers were fired up for that game. The team's losing, it looks like we might not win, hit somebody, throw some shots, chirp, show me anything. In addition to being our best player last night Smith was the only one who got in anyone's face.
I hate that McDavid plays for the Oilers and I hate giving him props but the one thing I can say about him unequivocally is he is 100% dedicated to scoring goals and winning hockey games. That's all he cares about and I think it's a big reason why these Oilers are so much better than the "lose by three goals but let's all go the Whyte ave to get wasted" grab-ass Oilers we were used to seeing. I don't think our skill young guys are like the Hall Oilers but I also don't think they're matching up with McDavid intensity and dedication wise. We need more from them, McD is gonna score on us, blow past Brodie and our other Dmen every game, but he's not a defenseman too and he doesn't play the whole game. We need to outscore the Oilers 4-2 or something like that if we want to win.
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