from Mark Spector of Sportsnet,

Soft and loose — it doesn’t win November, and it sure as heck won’t win in May and June.

But here are the win-one-lose-one Edmonton Oilers, trundling along playing one strong game in a row, then tuned in by a New Jersey Devils team that is hockey’s best example of an outfit that brings it every night.

The Devils won their 13th straight game, beating Edmonton 5-2 Monday night in Newark, while the Oilers haven’t won back-to-back games since Nov. 1.

After a hard, responsible win on home ice versus Vegas on Saturday, the Oilers were shy on the details and deserving of the ‘L’ as they opened up a three-game road trip with a loose, soft loss at the Prudential Center.

What’s the solution?

“We're gonna need to find a solution,” offered winger Zach Hyman. “We need to start stringing games together. Not just have a good one, then an OK one, then a good one and then a not so good one … We need to have some consistency to our game.

“And it's not early in the year anymore. We're closing in on the 20-game mark. So we need to figure that out.”

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