Oilers' Connor McDavid questions NHL's decision to schedule game after Colby Cave memorial

The Edmonton Oilers lost 5-0 to the Calgary Flames on Saturday in their third game in four nights. The team was rather sluggish and there's an obvious reason why they struggled.

On the morning of the game, the Oilers gathered at their hotel in Calgary to watch the Celebration of Life for teammate Colby Cave, who died one year ago after suffering a brain bleed.

It was an emotional morning as Cave's family spoke, crying as they remembered him and some of his best moments. 

After the service was over, the Oilers had to prepare to play, something they didn't want to do on such an upsetting day. After the game, Oilers captain Connor McDavid questioned the NHL's decision to make the team take the ice. 

"I don't want to make excuses. (The Flames) were better than us." McDavid said, according to Sportsnet's Mark Spector. "But I think you're asking a lot from guys, to sit through something like that, remember your teammate, see what the whole family is going through, and be expected to perform that night. I'm not sure what the league was really thinking there."

"It's a hard day for the Cave family. It's a hard day for Emily and her family. It's a hard day for the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins organizations," he added. "You'd like the NHL to maybe think that one through a little bit."

The NHL had scheduled the game in the last two weeks, while the Cave memorial had been planned long before that.

The Oilers don't play again until Friday and head coach Dave Tippett is giving the team two days off.