UPDATE - The Penguins have extended goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to a four-year, $23 Million deal.

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I hate writing these sorts of stories, but every coach knows he's hired with a ticking time clock. The Edmonton Oilers, after a four-game winning streak, have dropped three in a row by a combined score of 11-4.

Last night's effort in Philadelphia was not the way the Oilers wanted to start a five-game road trip. Pretty much everything but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' spectacular goal was bad: The goaltending, the decision making, the compete level at key junctures all left something to be desired. Even without Taylor Hall in the lineup, this was a very worrisome trend.

Understandably, neither general manager Craig MacTavish nor head coach Dallas Eakins looked like happy men after the game. That's not unusual after a bad loss but what was telling was the comments Eakins made after the game about the team's motivation level.

Said Eakins, “That’s part of your job as a coach, and that’s probably the most difficult job there is as a coach. People are wired a certain way, they have a certain DNA, and when it comes to that there are different ways to go about it. The one thing you don’t want to get caught in is every ten-day you have to try and jump-start a guy. If you are jump starting your car every ten days, you are probably getting rid of it. I think for the most part though we have very competitive guys and they are getting better at understanding that it has to be every night, just not sixty nights a year.”

While he closed his comments on a mostly upbeat note, the jump-starting analogy was alarming as was the characterization that most (the inference being "not all") of the team consists of competitive players who truly hate to lose. Eakins was basically throwing down a gauntlet to the organization to remove the players he does not feel are wired to compete.

These sorts of things rarely end well, and I've seen how they unfold many times. I called the Coaching Doom Spiral. Unless the Oilers dramatically turn things around over the balance of this road trip, Eakins could be the first NHL coach this season to be wished well in his future endeavors. Again, I hate to say it, but all the signs are there.

I am taping the Cranky Hockey Writers webcast at 11 a.m. EST today. The live HockeyBuzz webcast is at its normal 1 p.m. time. Stay tuned!