Leon Draisaitl doesn't mince words about Edmonton Oilers' defensive collapses in recent games

Leon Draisaitl spoke about the Edmonton Oilers' defensive struggles after their 6-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, the Oilers' sixth defeat in seven games.

Draisaitl admitted that the team is making too many mistakes and needs to fix them quickly. He said that they cannot allow five or six goals per game and expect to win.

"I think a lot of individual mistakes that lead to collective mistakes. Some of that needs to get fixed as soon as possible to have a chance to win. Obviously, you can't give up five or six goals every night and expect to win," Draisaitl said.

Edmonton’s defensive issues have been a major problem. Against the Ducks, they collapsed after a good start. Calvin Pickard allowed four goals on 11 shots before being pulled, but that didn’t help. Poor coverage and turnovers gave Anaheim easy scoring chances, exposing Edmonton’s weaknesses again.

When asked if he feels responsible to score more to help the team, Draisaitl rejected that notion. He said that defending is just as important as scoring.

"The job is to defend just as much as scoring goals. That’s not the mindset we have in here, and it’s not the mindset I have. My role is to provide offense, of course, but my role is also to not be minus four," Draisaitl added.

Leon Draisaitl stressed that everyone on the team must take responsibility for defense, not just the goaltenders and blueliners.

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Leon Draisaitl's power-play goal not enough as Oilers lose to Ducks

The Edmonton Oilers lost to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday at Rogers Place. Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said that the team started well but struggled after Anaheim’s first goal.

“We got caught on a goal against, and, after that, we’re a fragile team, and when things aren’t going well, we lose our game," Knoblauch said (via NHL.com).

"I thought our start was exactly how we needed to play and guys were ready, and then a little bit of adversity, and we’re a shell of ourselves.”

Leon Draisaitl scored first on the power play at 10:05 of the first period, one-timing a pass from Connor McDavid past Lukas Dostal. The Ducks, though, responded quickly, scoring four goals in 6:41.

Leo Carlsson made it 1-1 at 11:57, intercepting Leon Draisaitl’s pass and shooting past Calvin Pickard. Mason McTavish gave Anaheim the lead at 13:37 with a wrist shot through Pickard’s legs. Sam Colangelo made it 3-1 at 18:26 after his shot deflected off Brett Kulak. Twelve seconds later, McTavish scored again, making it 4-1.

Ryan Strome made it 5-1 at 13:22 of the second period, finishing a pass from Jackson LaCombe. Alex Killorn added a goal at 3:56 of the third period. McDavid, playing his 700th game, scored on the power play 47 seconds later.

Edmonton has now lost eight of its last 11 games.