Oilers Cancel CBA Mandated Off Day After Blowout Loss to Sabres

It was a trip down memory lane for the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday, although down a path neither players nor fans ever wanted to travel again.

Just a day after abandoning their defensive game in an embarrassing 6-2 home loss to the injury-depleted Sabres—bringing back the painful memories Oilers fans have had to endure over the last decade—the team decided to come to work Monday, despite a scheduled off day mandated by the league's collective bargaining agreement.

"We took tonight off so we'll practice tomorrow," Oilers head coach Todd McLellan said after the game.

From the NHL's CBA on scheduling and off days:

Clubs shall provide each Player with a monthly travel/practice schedule prior to each full month of the Regular Season indicating the days that have been designated as days off for each Player. Clubs shall endeavor to schedule no less than four (4) days off for Players per month (up to two of which may be scheduled on the road) during each full calendar month of the NHL Regular Season.

McLellan put his team on blast following what he felt was a total lackluster effort by his club.

Without their two best forwards, Evander Kane and Jack Eichel, the Sabres still managed to run wild on an Edmonton team that looked sharp through its first two games, scoring 12 goals in a pair of wins over the Flames.

"We looked like the Bad News Bears," McLellan told reporters. "We didn't execute. Our passing was poor. Our positioning from the goaltender to the blue-line to the forwards, nobody was ready to play.

"From each and every game you learn lessons. We learned the lesson that we can't handle prosperity yet. We just got kicked right between the legs and we deserved it."

After "serious pressing" from their head coach, according to the Edmonton Journal, the decision to practice Monday despite the mandatory day off was reportedly made by the team's core leadership group, including big free-agent signing Milan Lucic and new captain Connor McDavid.

"On a night when you don't have it, you can maybe rely on your special teams to keep you in it but we didn't get power-play opportunities because we weren't skating. Our penalty-killing gave up one or two," said McDavid.

Citing previous organizational failures that have been holding the franchise back for years, McLellan did anything but hold back when reflecting on what has been the Oilers' biggest detriment for years.

"We have things to fix as an organization, and stupidity is one of them."

They won't have much time to iron things out and get back on track, as the Oilers host the Hurricanes, who have lost both their first two games in overtime, on Tuesday night.