Draisaitl owns his role in team’s weak D lately
Oilers star still scoring goals but too many are being scored on team when he is on ice
Leon Draisaitl isn’t hiding from his defensive tailspin. He isn’t dancing around the issue or passing the blame, either.
He didn’t even need to be asked about the mountain of minuses piling up around him, he simply volunteered a rather blunt and harsh evaluation of where he feels his game is at during a routine post-practice interview Monday.
“I can’t speak for (other players),” he said Monday, when asked about the Oilers five-onfive struggles. “I can only talk for myself and obviously I know I’ve been pretty s--- lately. Sorry about my words, there.”
Firstly, never apologize to a sportswriter for delivering a brutally honest quote. Secondly, you have to give him credit for owning up to a defensive tailspin when he and Connor Mcdavid have pretty much been responsible for carrying the offensive load all season long.
But there has been a definite sag in his overall game. He’s right when he says he isn’t exactly playing his No. 1 game right now.
Now, the S-word might be a little strong for a player who is No. 2 in the scoring race (61 points in 41 games) and on pace to shatter his career-high for points, but there are two sides of the ice and yes, Draisaitl is leaking goals on the wrong end of it.
He is a staggering minus-11 in his last four games (including two minus-threes and a minusfour), and while some of that lies at the feet of the goaltenders and defencemen, he hasn’t been on the plus side of a game since Nov. 23 (-25 in the last 16 games). That’s definitely reflective of something.
“We go through every goal and he’s gobbled some minuses where (the mistakes) were nowhere close to him, but he was on the ice,” said head coach Dave Tippett. “And there are some that are things he can clean up. That’s what we talked about the last few days.”
In a couple of sit-downs with his German workhorse, Tippett said Draisaitl is as honest and open with him as he was with the media, which is a good sign. The last thing you want is somebody trying to bluff his way through a stretch like this, or someone who won’t own up to his share of the blame.
“He’s very aware of where he’s at and where his game needs to be,” said Tippett.
“We’ve had a few good conversations over the past couple of days. He’s had a couple of real good days of practice here, understanding where his game is at and where he can make improvements and what’s expected in the future.
“All players go through adversity. This is some adversity that I think will do him very well as he moves on.”
Tippett added that Draisaitl’s defensive sag can also be partly attributed to the overall malaise of the Oilers. Too many times they’ve found themselves trailing in games, so too many times Draisaitl’s had to cheat a little offensively to try to get them back in the fight. That’s when the minuses can jump up and bite you on the stats sheet.
“He’s the epitome of (the
Oilers chasing games),” said Tippett. “We’re down 4-2? He’s going to do whatever he can to help us win. He thinks that by scoring, it helps us win. And sometimes, you can’t blame him for thinking that way, because we’re down.
“But as we’ve got chasing more and more, the imbalance in his game is giving away too much and he’s ended up chasing it more than the team is chasing it.”
The other area that can’t be ignored is the fatigue factor. Draisaitl plays more minutes than any other forward in the NHL (22:39 per game) and has taken 157 more faceoffs than anyone else on the team. It’s not unreasonable to suggest it’s catching up with him.
That question has been asked and answered many times this season and coach and player both repeatedly tell us that ice time is not an issue. You have to take them at their word, but Draisaitl and Mcdavid (22:14) are the only two forwards in the NHL among the top 50 in ice time per game.
A little rest over the break, and a much easier schedule in January, will help everyone, but Draisaitl says that, for him, it’s just a matter of getting back to the 200-foot player he was at the start of the season.
“I’ve always been very good at assessing my own game,” he said. “I have no problem saying that I haven’t been playing to my capabilities. But those stretches happen.
“Maybe it’s a little too long for myself, but I’ve always come out of them as a better player and I’m positive it will happen this time, too."
All players go through adversity. This is some adversity that I think will do him very well as he moves on.