Has fatigue set in for the Edmonton Oilers?

Things are looking bleak for the two-time defending Western Conference champions.

The Edmonton Oilers squandered a chance to tie their Pacific Division Semifinal against the Anaheim Ducks, blowing a pair of leads in Game 4 before ultimately losing on a controversial goal in overtime.

While most people in Alberta are up in arms about how things ended, it doesn’t cover up the fact that the Oilers are failing to get the job done against a relatively young and inexperienced Ducks team. Despite winning the first game of the series, Edmonton has given up a lead five times, a main reason why the team is down 3-1 in the series, and could be eliminated on home ice.

On Monday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton discussed whether the previous long postseason runs are catching up to the Oilers.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Edmonton, who in the past has been so good at grinding down the other team when they have a lead, it’s tough to come back on them in playoffs past, because they would still spend 70% of the game in your end just cycling the puck…They just wear you down. The Oilers are letting this thing turn into a track meet, or maybe the Ducks are forcing this thing into a track meet. If that doesn’t change, the series is done in five.

Carter Hutton: 100%. That’s where the grind has to come into it…This is a team that we just expected to get going. This is a team we expected to just try to find their way, because they’re the Edmonton Oilers…the Florida Panthers just won two Cups, and they went to a final before that, and they’re non-existent this year. So what makes you expect that there isn’t a fatigue into the Edmonton Oilers? They went just as far. They played just as much hockey. They just didn’t win that final game. And I think they’ve been trying to turn it on and trying to find it all year. That consistency is really coming to bite them, I think, in this series.

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…