April 2 postgame quotes: Edmonton

Taylor Hall, on the loss:
Yeah, I mean we lost 8-2. You’re never proud of efforts like that. We let our goalies out to dry on a few occasions. We came into this Western swing against Anaheim and LA with high hopes. We have some work to do. There were some positives things for sure, but overall if we want to compete with these teams we have to play better.

Hall, on what struggles the team has faced in its last two games:
We’ve had a few turnovers. We’ve had some mental mistakes that really hadn’t crept into our game for a long time and that’s what happens.

Hall, on whether he believes in playing the role of spoiler:
If you knock one team out of the playoffs, another team is getting in. You’re not dwindling the playoffs down to four teams when you beat teams. But we have a good group of guys in here and we play with pride. We have fun playing together and we have fun winning together, but these last two games were an exception.

Jordan Eberle, on playing better before coming to Southern California:
We definitely were playing better and then you have two stinkers like this. I don’t even have words, just that was embarrassing.

Eberle, on whether there is something to play for at this point in their season:
Pride, we’re professional hockey players. You go out and do that and give that effort, I mean they treated us like a junior team. They were pushing us around, they were winning battles, they were getting to our front of the net, we couldn’t get to theirs. You’re a professional hockey player, you have to be able to play through whatever it is. Guys are playing for jobs. You go out there and you get embarrassed like that, you have to be in a situation where there’s going to be guys that are going to take your spot. It’s that simple. In the NHL, the AHL, there are a ton of good hockey players that would love to be here. You do that, it’s just like I said, it’s embarrassing.

Todd Nelson, on whether their opponent was “too desperate and too good”:
Well, they came at us real hard at the start and they didn’t let up until maybe late in the third. They’re a desperate hockey team and they’re a good hockey team. They’re the Stanley Cup champions. They’re trying to put themselves in a position to go after it again and they played a very strong game.