McDavid takes responsibility: 'When I'm better,' whole team responds

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid said he needs to have a stronger sense of urgency to set the tone for his team after Thursday's 6-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

"(Urgency) starts with me," McDavid told reporters. "The last two (games), probably not my best. I can be better. When I'm better, usually the whole group responds. So that starts there. Sense of urgency, it can even start in practice.

"I thought our puck play has been real bad. Real, real bad. Not really connecting on passes. When we do, kinda sloppy, bouncing, whatever it is. When you're playing that way, it looks slow and clunky. I thought we've looked that way for the last few games."

The Oilers surrendered three goals in a 37-second span in the first period of Thursday's loss. Edmonton has now dropped four of its last six contests and is 1-2-0 to commence its eight-game homestand.

"There's 30 games left," McDavid said. "We're coming down the home stretch here. There's no February this year, so it's like we're at the end of February. The sense of urgency's gotta go up in our group. Playoff race is real tight, and we gotta find a way to get points here, especially at home."

The NHL breaks this season from Feb. 6-24 due to the Olympics.

Edmonton finds itself second in the Pacific Division with a 25-19-8 record, two points behind the Vegas Golden Knights, though Vegas has three games in hand. The Oilers have a five-point cushion over the second wild-card spot, currently held by the Seattle Kraken.

McDavid has zero goals in his last seven games. He had a 20-game point streak that ended Jan. 15 in which he notched 19 goals and 46 points.