The Definition of Insanity: Doing the same thing even though it never works.

There’s an old saying that goes something like “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me”. After the illness inducing 10-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday this is exactly the statement that pertains to Darryl Katz and the Edmonton Oilers. It was about a short month ago that the Oilers were hanging their heads in shame after getting handled to the tune of 9-2 by the Chicago Blackhawks at Rexall Place. Now a team will lose that badly every once in a blue moon as every team in the league does. But to do so twice in the same year, on home ice no less, is absolutely inexcusable. There is a clear lack of coaching on this team. Of course the players hold a good amount of responsibility for the debacles that occurred and yes they’re supposed to motivate themselves but a good coaching staff should be able to get a vibe from their team and how they’re feeling. A good coach will deem whether a team needs a little extra motivation or discipline heading into a game. A good coach will go into certain games and will know when his team just doesn’t have it and will run damage control. Craig MacTavish seems to be at a loss for what to do when his team is struggling in game. It almost comes across like the players are running the team because they’ve completely tuned MacT out and no one would hold it against them if they had. He’s torn a strip off of Dustin Penner for pretty well playing to the best of his ability(it’s not his fault that Kevin Lowe gave him way more money then he’s worth) and then he ripped a kid that’s not even on the team yet! Not only that but a coach has a certain shelf life with a team. There comes a time when the players eventually just tire of the same old message(Lindy Ruff in Buffalo and Barry Trotz in Nashville are the exception, not the rule). Even if the Oilers manage to squeak into the playoffs they wouldn’t make it past the first round with the coaching and inconsistent offense and goaltending they have. You have to hope that Darryl Katz doesn’t think that a 7th-8th place, 1 and out playoff would be good enough to save Craig MacTavish’s job.