McDavid: Oilers haven't figured out importance of good defense

Connor McDavid knows at least one area that the Edmonton Oilers must improve on this offseason.

"Teams that win are the teams that defend," McDavid said Friday, according to The Athletic's Daniel Nugent-Bowman. "We haven't figured that out yet."

After a promising regular season in which the Oilers finished with the fifth-best record in the Western Conference, Edmonton was unable to advance past the 12th-seeded Chicago Blackhawks in the qualifying round.

McDavid and teammate Leon Draisaitl, who finished first and second in the league in regular-season points, respectively, were on the ice for six goals for and five goals against at even strength during the qualifying series.

Edmonton finished the regular season with the 14th-best goal differential in the league at plus-8. Only Kailer Yamamoto, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Matt Benning managed a positive plus-minus rating.

Defenseman Darnell Nurse insisted the team as a whole has to improve next season.

"Everyone is pissed off about it," Nurse said, according to Sportsnet's Mark Spector. "You can beat yourself over the head with it for weeks. Is that going to bring you back in a better mind frame?"

He added, "There's a taste in everyone's mouth that no one likes. We've had it four out of five years here. We need to be better."

Despite a promising leap during the regular season, the Oilers have now failed to reach the round of 16 for the 13th time in their last 14 campaigns. They last made the playoffs in 2017, where they were eliminated in the second round.

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