They never thought they'd be in this situation but after the way Sunday unfolded in the NHL Edmonton has nearly reached the top of the desperation ladder.
That's why on Monday, with his team sitting 10th in the West, Craig MacTavish must have used the word intensity a dozen times in about as many minutes of a 12-minute long post-practice assessment.
Time and games are something the Oilers don't want to run short on but that means they have to play with, you guessed it, intensity. There wasn't enough of it against Phoenix and there wasn't enough of it against Minnesota from the coach's perspective.
That's why Monday the team was late getting on the ice because they held a meeting to discuss the current state of affairs. I know if you are sitting at home or at work reading this you're thinking, "They need a meeting to discuss intensity with less than two weeks to go in the season!?"
Yes they needed it because the message isn't getting to enough of the players. Edmonton's run for the playoffs can't be done by one man, even if Dwayne Roloson has been outstanding, or by half the team. They need everyone or it won't work.
MacTavish said at this point of the year you ask yourself two questions: Are you committed enough? And are you good enough? If the answer to the first question is no then it doesn't matter what the answer to the second question is.
The coach is trying to get past the crest on the front of the jersey and find what's inside the men who wear it. A journey to the soul of each individual on the team. It will tell him and everyone else what Edmonton has to offer in its final six games.
Ethan Moreau said that what they believe in the room is what the coach believes. They hear him loud and clear and the message doesn't need another messenger it just needs to register once it arrives.
There are a lot of people for whom the Oilers need to make the playoffs and you could start with the owner whose commitment has been unwavering. They can do it for the coaches or management... it goes without saying that it would be a nice reward for the fans but in the end they have to do it for themselves.
As explained by MacTavish, the burden is a shared responsibility and when the game is over not one player should be thinking, "Where the hell was he tonight?" Because if the players don't show up neither will the playoffs.
