On one hand, they deserve a pat on the back for getting through the first 20 games of a ridiculously unfair schedule without ever once falling below .500.
On the other hand, they deserve a smack upside the head for how bad they've looked doing it.
Do you dump all over the Oilers for looking like they don't want to get their skirts wrinkled out there, or salute them for the obvious character and will it took to survive 16 of their first 20 games on the road?
The answer is yes. On both counts.
Yes, it is truly impressive that they're still in the playoff mix after what amounts to a six-week road trip (17 flights in 20 games). It's great that they're still above water when the season is 40 days old and they've only been in Edmonton for 14 of them.
Given all they've been through, 9-9-2 is pretty good.
But there's no ignoring what we can see with our own two eyes, and what we've been hearing from head coach Craig MacTavish all season: This team needs fewer hens and more gamecocks.
Because it might be understandable that they were outgunned by Detroit, but what isn't understandable is how easily and quietly so many of them have been willing to accept defeat.
What takes some of the glow off that impressive .500, and makes you wonder if they'll be any better than that when the schedule shifts to Rexall Place, is how soft and disinterested they look at times. How they seem to view the opening faceoff as a rough suggestion of when to start playing.
The Red Wings made them look foolish twice in four nights and the Oilers barely broke a frown.
There were messages that could have been sent in Detroit, with the game out of reach, that would have surely carried over into Edmonton. None were. There were shifts in the rematch, when Edmonton trailed 3-0, that were begging to be used as momentum turners. None were. In both games, Detroit owned the boards and won easily.
"We've got to get some mental toughness here over the next four or five days," said MacTavish, who had some of his players on the ice and others in the weight room yesterday. "Find the mental resolve that you're going to go out and compete harder than what we have been. We've got great examples of guys in that locker-room who compete every night, there's just not enough commitment, collectively, to battle."
Sheldon Souray is just as tired as everyone else and he still summoned the jam to make life difficult for the Wings, so Edmonton's shrinking violets can't palm all of this off on fatigue.
"It's very important for a lot of guys (to show) what their role on the team is going to be," said captain Ethan Moreau.
"We're going to get some rest and have a lot of games at home, there's going to be no excuses at all. If we don't have a lot of energy and competitive spirit, there will be changes."
A transformation like the one Moreau and MacTavish are talking about seems easier said than done. You can't turn St. Bernards into Rottweilers and poodles into pit bulls, right?
Ladislav Smid, who had to be moved from defence to wing to compensate for all the timidity up front, disagrees. He says you can teach a soft dog new, and mean, tricks. Toughness didn't come naturally to him, either, but he works at it.
"I'm thinking about it before every game," he said. "I know what my job is, move the puck quickly and be physical. When I got here I wasn't really physical. I had meetings with Mac and he told me what he wants from me, so ..."
So he did it. Now the Oilers need about 12 others to follow suit, because it's unlikely they'll be able to fix this on the trade front (it's tough getting decent returns on players who don't score, don't fight, don't hit and can't kill penalties).
For their sake, hopefully it was just a big case of road trip legs and a little rest will reignite their fire. They don't all need to be Steve MacIntyre (who is sorely missed, by the way), they just need to man up a little.
"Running guys through the boards and fighting isn't always tough hockey," said Moreau. "We can take a lot from the two games we lost to (Detroit), just in the way they pursue the puck and how strong they are on their sticks. That's the game now. It's changed. That's tough, hard-nosed hockey, being tough on pucks and winning one-on-one battles."
