NHL
Draisaitl vented his frustration by calling out to his team and coaching staff after a 4-3 loss to the Flames on Wednesday. Cameron Bartlett / Getty Images
The Edmonton Oilers continue to muddle along in the Pacific Division standings.
After a 4-3 road loss to the Calgary Flames that extended their losing streak to three games, Leon Draisaitl vented his frustration by calling out to his team and coaching staff on Wednesday night.
A loss to their Battle of Alberta rival, who’s set to be a seller at the trade deadline, left the Oilers with a 28-22-8 record that’s good enough to sit two points behind the first-place Vegas Golden Knights in the Pacific but hardly good enough for Draisaitl after two runs to the Stanley Cup Final.
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“This league is too hard to just lollygag through games and try to get winning streaks going,” Draisaitl said, pointing at their inconsistency. “You need everybody. It starts with coaches. Everybody. You’re never going to win if you have four or five guys going and it starts at the top. We can be better. Our leaders can be better. We’ll take the break and regroup.”
The Oilers have not won more than three in a row all season. That has happened only once — just within the last week, which included two overtime victories — and they’ve responded with home losses of 7-3 to the Minnesota Wild and 5-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs before heading to Calgary for a disappointing effort on a back-to-back.
Edmonton forged two ties, including one at 3-3 early in the third on Kasperi Kapanen’s goal. However, the Flames broke the tie on a score by fourth-line forward Ryan Lomberg just 2 minutes, 17 seconds later. Tristan Jarry allowed four goals on 25 shots. The Flames also got power-play goals from Jonathan Huberdeau and Matvei Gridin.
“We’re just giving up too many goals,” Draisaitl said. “I don’t know. Can’t defend. Penalty kill is not great. But as many things that are part of it, it’s just not good enough right now.”
The Oilers have struggled on the penalty kill, with a 76.9 percent success rate that ties for 25th with two other teams. Assistant coach Mark Stuart, who has been part of the Edmonton staff the last four seasons, has run the unit under head coach Kris Knoblauch. But Draisaitl also took aim at their goaltending.
Jarry has struggled with Edmonton after coming from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 12 for Stuart Skinner in a four-player deal that included defenseman Brett Kulak heading to the Penguins.
“It starts with me,” Jarry said. “I can be more accountable and I can play better.
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“If I play better and stand in there strong for these guys, we’ll have some better outcomes. It starts with me, and I have to be better moving forward.”
The 30-year-old netminder has a 6-4-1 record with the Oilers, but with a 3.64 goals-against average and paltry .870 save percentage.
“It goes hand in hand,” Draisaitl said. “We got to defend better. We got to make it easier on him. And then I’m sure he can be a little bit better, too. It’s a two-way street, but it starts with us in front of him, and then the game becomes a little bit easier for him. I think there’s saves that our goalies need to make at some point.”
While the Oilers are in playoff position, they’re also only one point better than the Anaheim Ducks, who hold the second wild card in the West and just four clear of the Los Angeles Kings, who sit just outside as part of a congested group in the Pacific. Every other playoff contender has games in hand on Edmonton, and Draisaitl sounded an urgent call heading into the Olympic break.
“We’re a different team,” he said. “We’re not the same team. We’re not as good right now. We’re not even close. Like, we need to understand that it’s time. Obviously, there’s a break now, but when we come back, we got to get going.”
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Eric Stephens is a staff writer for The Athletic NHL based in Southern California. Eric has been writing and talking about sports for newspapers and media outlets for more than 30 years. He has previously covered the NHL for The Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times. He is also an occasional contributor on NHL Network. Follow Eric on Twitter @icemancometh
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