Connor McDavid says, “They played really well, we struggled all around,” after losing against the Washington Capitals

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Connor McDavid may have won the 4 Nations Face-Off 2025, but his Edmonton Oilers suffered drastically in the 2024-2025 NHL season. The break cost them their three successive losses. Their last match against Alex Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals on Sunday- made them fall flat on their faces because it marked their third straight game with a 7 to 3 loss to the Washington Capitals. Talking to Enterprise, Edmonton Oilers ice hockey center and captain Connor McDavid shared, “We haven’t been very good. Just getting back to work. Sometimes, this happens after breaks. Some teams come up flying. Some teams come up flat. We have obviously done the latter. So, yeah, gotta get back to it.”

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid sheds light on the differences between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals

First, the Edmonton Oilers lost to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday when the score was 6-3. Second, the Edmonton Oilers lost to the Washington Capitals on Sunday when the score was 7-3. How were they different for the Oilers? Their captain and ice hockey center, Connor McDavid, answers,
“There are two different styles of game. I thought we had the puck more against Philly. We gave them offense. I thought today, we struggled all around. They played really well. Picks did a great job just keeping them at what we kept them at or what he kept them at. But we weren’t very good obviously.”
Talking about the Washington Capitals, Connor McDavid shared, “They come at you in waves, you know, wave after wave. They got four lines, 6 D-men, and they just roll them. They’re an impressive group. They’re having a great year.”

Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch says, “We looked like a slow team,” after the Oilers’ 7-3 loss against the Washington Capitals

Kris Knoblauch thought his team, the Edmonton Oilers, had a great start, but they dropped later on. Knoblauch said, “I think it was an excellent start. Good pace, both teams skating well, chances on both ends, and the goaltenders made some really big saves, but then they continued that pace and we dropped. They were just able to make a lot more plays. They were out skating us, and we looked like a slow team. Slow to defend, slow to get up on ice, on the attack. I think a lot of it is just not finding out legs and that makes it difficult to create offense if you’re not moving. And gives them a lot more time and space to make plays.”
The head coach for the Oilers couldn’t pinpoint who was better from the team, Knoblauch shared, “Everyone just needs to dig in and get a little bit better. I can’t think of anyone that I’m saying, ‘Oh, I really like his game, he’s playing outstanding.’ I think everyone in that room can be a bit better. Some more than others, but I think collectively we can step it up. Everyone just has to be a bit better. Whether that’s on our backcheck, our breakout, our passing, our penalty kill. Everything can be a little bit better.”