The Edmonton Oilers five-game road trip began with a 2–0 shutout win at Madison Square Garden where Stuart Skinner looked unbeatable and the forward group finally seemed to be finding their rhythm.
But one week later, that optimism feels, well, distant.
On Sunday afternoon in Detroit, the Oilers fell 4–2 to the Red Wings marking their third straight defeat and dropping them to 1–3–0 on this crucial stretch away from home.
Leon Draisaitl points out major culprit in recent losses
Edmonton was limited to just 18 shots on goal on the night which is far too few for a team built on offensive firepower. They failed to generate consistent zone time and lost key face-offs which eventually ended up costing the game.
“Yeah, it is (hard),” Leon Draisaitl admitted post-game. “You know, just not creating enough offence. Um, obviously not really seeing it right now and, um, yeah, then then it’s hard for sure.”
His tone said as much as his words in a mixture of frustration and recognition that this isn’t simply bad luck anymore.
“We’re just not scoring enough. Um, I think we’re playing fine defensively. Uh, it’s just not… yeah, you’re not going to win very many games when you score one or two goals.”
Detroit, by contrast, looked energized on the night. Dylan Larkin had a four-point night (2G, 2A), Rookie Emmitt Finnie scored the first two goals of his NHL career and Goaltender John Gibson was steady when tested. Edmonton kept things close when Noah Philp and Draisaitl scored to make it 3–2 late but a Finnie empty-netter sealed it.
Draisaitl opens up on challenge of linking up with new players
When asked about the challenge of integrating new faces into Edmonton’s forward group, from Jack Roslovic to Trent Frederic, and the absence of Zach Hyman from the lineup, Draisaitl didn’t refer to the adjustment period. Instead, he turned the focus squarely on himself.
“It’s not that, you know, it’s me,” he admitted. “I’m certainly not feeling it right now. The game changes when your top guys are feeling it and creating offence. It changes the entire dynamic of a group. So, yeah, just have to take a look in the mirror and figure something out to be better.”
This again says just how dependent the Oilers still are on their elite duo to drive results. Against Detroit, Connor McDavid was held to just two shots and no points while Draisaitl’s third-period goal was one of the few flashes of life from a top-six that has struggled to find sync this season.
The frustration isn’t effort-based as Draisaitl was quick to note: “It’s certainly not for a lack of effort. Everyone’s trying really hard. But it’s tough going right now. Plays are closing down quick.”
That last point speaks volumes. The Oilers are being smothered in the neutral zone and losing battles in transition. When opponents keep their rushes to the outside and collapse around the net, Edmonton’s creative players have struggled to find seams something that has now persisted over multiple games.
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Draisaitl admits the toll of long seasons and short summers
Perhaps one of the most revealing moments of the postgame interview came when he was asked whether fatigue is creeping in after several deep playoff runs.
“Yeah, I mean, certainly,” he said. “We’ve played an awful lot of hockey the last three, four years and not a lot of rest time. And there comes a time where maybe it catches up to you a little bit. But there’s another team that went through the same thing, we have to find a way to push through it and just be better.”
Sunday’s loss extended a troubling pattern. Edmonton has now lost three straight and will finish this road swing with games in Ottawa. As the road trip winds down, Edmonton’s season already feels like it’s at an inflection point. They’ve seen both ends of their potential and the challenge now is striking the balance that spark, and turns talent into results.
Because as Draisaitl put it best, “With the talent in here, it will click… but it’s certainly frustrating right now.”
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