The Edmonton Oilers are running on fumes, and Mike Babcock isn’t pretending otherwise.
After Thursday’s 4-2 loss to the Utah Mammoth, the coach was staring at the ice-time sheet and thinking the question everyone else in the room was ready to ask once they saw Connor McDavid go over 25 minutes. “What the heck am I doing?”
That was the honest answer from Babcock, who said the workload on his stars has become unavoidable because of all the bodies missing from the lineup. Edmonton was without Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Matt Savoie, Jason Dickinson, Colton Dach and Jake Walman, leaving the Oilers thin enough that Babcock had to lean hard on McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard.
“It has to stop,” Babcock said. “I’m also trying to survive right now,” he added, pointing to the injuries that have gutted his roster.
That was never the plan. Babcock came into the season talking about spreading the job around, giving everyone a role and keeping his top players from getting worn down. But with what he called essentially an entire second line out for the first six games, the reality has looked nothing like the blueprint.
He did acknowledge the schedule has helped a little. The games have been spaced out, which has made the heavy usage somewhat manageable.
Still, he made it clear there’s a limit to how long Edmonton can keep going this way. “That’s not the NHL.
It’s impossible.”
Even with the loss, Babcock saw a lot he could live with. Edmonton dropped its first regulation game, never held a lead and still stayed in it until Utah’s empty-netter put it away. The Oilers were held to just three shots in the first period, but they still kept the Mammoth from pulling away.
“I liked a lot about this game,” Babcock said. “I like that everyone competed and dug in.
It was a hard, tight-checking game.” McDavid echoed that view, even after another night with a massive workload.
“I thought we competed and put in a good effort,” the captain said. “We expect to win every night, no matter who is on the lineup.”
For Babcock, the upside is pretty straightforward: this stretch is telling him who can handle the moment and who can’t. “We’re seeing who can play and who can’t,” he said.
If Edmonton can keep hanging around until more help comes back, he believes the group can be fine. But he didn’t sugarcoat where things stand right now.
“Right now we’re not as deep,” he said, “and I thought that showed tonight.”
The Oilers get another crack at Utah on Saturday. Hyman could be available if he’s cleared to return, Nugent-Hopkins has been skating, and Dickinson’s situation remains unclear. Babcock said Dickinson’s injury wasn’t ankle-related, which left reporters with more questions than answers after the game.
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