The Edmonton Oilers are 6-5-3 and nothing has worked to fix what’s broken. Talking about it hasn’t worked. Line changes haven’t worked. Player-led meetings haven’t worked. Coaching messages haven’t worked.

They keep saying the right things, then go out and blow leads, play inconsistent hockey, and drop points to teams they should beat in regulation.

Maybe what they need is to get embarrassed by the Colorado Avalanche tonight.

Not just lose. Not another tight game where they blow a lead in the third period and come away with a point in overtime. They need to get thoroughly dominated by one of the best teams in the Western Conference in front of their home crowd. The kind of loss that’s impossible to rationalize or explain away. The kind of performance that forces everyone to admit this team has serious problems that aren’t getting fixed with half-measures.

“We’ve done a good job of putting ourselves in some pretty good spots, and haven’t found a way to close them out. That’s an area we’ve got to clean up,” began Connor McDavid. “A little bit more desperate, a little more urgency to win games

Colorado is 8-1-5 and rolling. They’re rested, confident, and playing elite hockey. The Avalanche have the kind of structure and execution the Oilers talk about wanting, but can’t seem to deliver consistently. If Edmonton comes out with the same sloppy play, the same defensive breakdowns, the same inability to sustain pressure at five-on-five, Colorado will make them pay for it.

And maybe that’s exactly what needs to happen.

Sometimes teams need to hit rock bottom before they’re willing to make real changes. The Oilers haven’t hit that point yet because they keep finding ways to escape with points. They blow a 2-0 lead to Dallas, but it’s just another overtime loss. They struggle against inferior opponents but still maintain a home record that looks respectable. They’re treading water just well enough that nothing feels urgent.

Getting beaten badly by Colorado would remove that cushion. It would make the problems impossible to ignore. It would force the kind of honest reckoning that hasn’t happened yet because the results, while disappointing, haven’t been catastrophic enough to demand immediate action.

“We’re putting ourselves in good spots, (but) we’re not closing them out,” continued McDavid. “That’s a thing we’re normally pretty good at. (And the Avs are) a great challenge for us, something that’s got our attention. We’re excited to go”

The Oilers have tried gentle adjustments. They’ve tried shuffling lines. They’ve tried player accountability and coaching messages. None of it has produced the kind of sustained improvement this team needs. Maybe what they need is the kind of loss that’s so thorough and complete that nobody in that locker room can pretend things are fine anymore.

There’s a precedent for this. Teams often turn their seasons around after getting embarrassed. The humiliation becomes a catalyst for change in ways that incremental disappointment never does. When you lose 6-1 or 7-2 to a good team in your own building, you can’t hide behind “we just need to execute better” platitudes. You have to confront the reality that what you’re doing isn’t working.

Colorado has the talent and structure to deliver that kind of wake-up call. They can expose every weakness the Oilers have been dealing with all season—defensive breakdowns, five-on-five struggles, inability to sustain pressure. If Edmonton shows up with the same inconsistent effort they’ve brought most nights, the Avalanche could run them out of Rogers Place.

And maybe that’s what it takes. Maybe the Oilers need to feel the sting of getting dominated in front of their home fans. Maybe they need the kind of loss that makes them angry enough to actually commit to the changes they keep talking about.

Or, at the very least, acknowledge how much said change is actually needed.

“I think it’s too early to say it’s a measuring stick of us being a good team or a bad team, but I think it’s a good challenge for us,” added Kris Knoblauch post morning skate. “And I think we always get excited about challenges and playing against other good teams, because we believe we’re a good team and but to say if we come up flat or we must beat them by a large margin margin, or lose by I don’t think that’s any indication of where we are long term.”

Nothing else has worked. Gentle corrections and minor adjustments haven’t moved the needle. Perhaps what this team needs is a loss so bad it can’t be ignored, so complete it forces immediate and meaningful change.

Tonight against Colorado might be exactly that opportunity. The Avalanche are good enough to deliver it. The question is whether the Oilers will show up and prevent it, or if they’ll sleepwalk through another game and finally get the embarrassment that might actually wake them up.