The Edmonton Oilers and Their Second Efforts

On the Edmonton Oilers right now this far in the season, one must be satisfied with their place in the standings, but by no means should fans be satisfied with their play.

My biggest annoyance with the Edmonton Oilers of the past two seasons were the games where they didn't show up to play.

Now don't get me wrong, losing is a part of hockey—otherwise every team would go 82-0 and the hockey world logic would explode into nothingness.

Losing after putting up a valiant fight—acceptable.

Losing after disappearing for 50 minutes—not acceptable.

Until the swath of injuries that hit the Oilers, I would categorize my satisfaction with the Oilers play in 2009-10 as being at its highest level since the cup run of '06. They were forechecking, playing strong defensively, and doing everything a team needs to do to compete. The fact that they were doing well in the standings didn't hurt either.

But winning games doesn't make for entertaining hockey, at least not all the time.

There are always cheesy losses like the ones to the Calgary Flames that the Oilers surrendered in which wins were surely deserved but not acquired.

Those were entertaining games too.

Injury or no injury, watching a team that gives no second effort is not what I want to see happen again. The Oilers may be missing Souray, Staios, Stone, and Comrie, but that's no excuse for a drop in the level of play.

The Oilers need to reignite that passion. Feel the fire in their bellies.

J.F. Jacques standing up for Tom Gilbert being piledriven by Andy Sutton may have been a slight overreaction but having guys that will mix it up when necessary, bounce off other guys and make life a living hell for the other team—is essential. This doesn't mean go out there and get an instigator from a fight. This means go out onto the ice and challenge every puck and hit every puck carrier.

Being hard to play against is more important than going on a long winning streak. Wins come with consistency and right now there isn't much of that.

Consistent habits and consistent play leads to consistency overall. The Oilers veterans need to start showing the passion that led them to be professionals in the first place. That rubs off on everyone else.

The wins will come, eventually. Consistent effort and play is first and foremost.