Fresh off snapping their six-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday, the Edmonton Oilers were handed a glorious opportunity to start a winning streak of their own with a matchup against the cellar-dwelling Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.
Instead, the Oilers came out flat, and the Kings made them pay, scoring three first-period goals en route to a 4-0 victory. Afterwards, head coach Ken Hitchcock called out the entire team, except for one player.
"We had one player show up to play, Darnell Nurse," Hitchcock said, according to Sportsnet's Gene Principe. "This is on everybody. When you have one player competing it can't be accepted."
Nurse logged a team-high 23:24 in the ugly defeat, tallying three shots, three hits, and a blocked shot. He's been asked to play a bigger role for Edmonton with several regulars on the blue line dealing with injuries.
While Nurse's growth this season has been encouraging, Hitchcock continued to echo his complaints about the rest of the group.
"You and I can bark and bitch and complain but it has to come from within the locker room," he said. "This is not acceptable."
Edmonton won't have to wait long for its shot at redemption, as the club will square off against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.
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