Connor McDavid calls out Edmonton Oilers shortcomings after third straight loss

Connor McDavid addressed the Edmonton Oilers' shortcomings following their third consecutive loss, this time against the Calgary Flames, who triumphed 4-1 in the first "Battle of Alberta" matchup of the season at Rogers Place.

The Oilers' offense faced scrutiny once again, as Jeff Skinner was the only player to score for the home team in Sunday's matchup. Despite McDavid's one assist and five shots on goal, he has yet to score this season.

The Oilers have struggled significantly on the offensive end, conceding 15 goals while only managing to score three in their first three games.

When asked about the team's performance and what they need to do to improve, Connor McDavid pointed out that the team's puck play has been subpar, with players frequently fumbling and mishandling the puck, resulting in inaccurate passes.

After the game, he said (via Daily Faceoff's Jason Gregor on X):

"Our puck play has been bad all over, guys fumbling it, guys not handling it, passes in the air, passes behind guys, it is just not good enough. When you aren’t clean with the puck it is hard to generate offence,” McDavid on the Oilers lackluster offence through three games.

The Oilers are off to a 0-3 start and will need to improve their performance to turn their season around.

Connor McDavid reflects on the disallowed goal

In a pivotal moment of the game, it appeared that the Oilers had taken a 2-0 lead when Corey Perry deflected a puck past Flames goalie Dan Vladar late in the first period.

However, the goal was disallowed following a lengthy review, which many observers deemed one of the weakest instances of goalie interference seen in recent memory.

The controversial decision added to the frustration of the Oilers as they struggled to find their offensive rhythm. Connor McDavid reflected on the disallowed goal, expressing that the team felt they had a strong start to the game.

However, he pointed out that they experienced a few unfortunate bounces that resulted in goals not going their way. Despite the challenges, he acknowledged that the overall performance was not good enough:

"We got off to a good start obviously and couple bad bounces with some of those goals not going our way obviously, but you know ultimately just not good enough."

Connor McDavid and the Oilers face the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo on Tuesday. The puck drops at 10 p.m. ET.