Edmonton Oilers star forward Leon Draisaitl was pointing the finger at himself after his team’s losing streak reached three games.
Draisaitl will look to point the Oilers on the right path Tuesday when the team concludes a five-game road trip against the Ottawa Senators.
Although Draisaitl scored his team high-tying fourth goal of the season on Sunday, he lamented several missed opportunities in Edmonton’s 4-2 setback to the Detroit Red Wings.
Draisaitl’s one-timer sailed several feet wide of the net on one sequence. He also lost control of the puck on an uncontested breakaway versus the Red Wings.
“It’s me who is certainly not feeling it right now,” Draisaitl said. “The game changes when your top guys are feeling it and seeing and creating offense. It changes the entire dynamic of the group. I have to take a look in the mirror and figure something out to be better.”
Speaking of “top guys,” superstar captain Connor McDavid remains without a goal this season (though he has seven assists) and offensive-minded defenseman Evan Bouchard has yet to dent the scoresheet.
As a result, the traditionally high-octane Oilers find themselves without much gas on offense. They’ve mustered just seven goals during their losing streak and nine tallies over their last four games.
“A lot of it is the way they feel, having confidence, feeling good about your game,” Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch said. “It’s just making the little, simple plays. If you’re trying to make the home run pass every time, you’ll probably have a lot of failure and it breaks down your game and you’re not having much rhythm or flow.”
Edmonton may get a boost as defenseman Jake Walman was activated from injured reserve on Monday. Walman, 29, was acquired from San Jose at last March’s trade deadline and amassed 10 points in 22 playoff games as the Oilers reached the Stanley Cup Final.
Perhaps a visit to Canada’s capital city can cure what ails the Oilers. After all, the generous Senators have allowed 30 goals in six games this season. The five-goal average continued in a 5-4 loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday.
“Disappointing, for starters,” Ottawa coach Travis Green said. “I thought our game got too loose when we had the lead, and a lot of things we took pride in last year where we were good, we weren’t good (on Saturday).
“There is a certain style of play that we want. There has been a lot of talk about creating more offense, but that doesn’t mean cheating for offense. That part of our game isn’t tight right now.”
Tim Stutzle collected a goal and an assist for the Senators, who have lost four of their last five games.
“I think we’re doing a lot of good things, but we shoot ourselves in the foot every time,” Stutzle said. “Doing small turnovers, don’t get the puck deep, and good teams and good players make you pay. That’s just not good enough there.
“It’s on us. We’ve got to make smarter decisions. It’s early in the year, but that can’t be an excuse.”
Long Island native Shane Pinto also tallied to become the first player in franchise history to score seven goals in the first six games of a season.
–Field Level Media
