"They have been awful defensively": NHL analyst delivers brutal review of Edmonton Oilers after McDavid & co.'s 7th loss in last 10 games

The Edmonton Oilers lost 6-2 to the Anaheim Ducks, marking their seventh loss in the last 10 games. Their record has dropped to 35-22-4 after being 32-15-3 in January. TSN’s Craig Button criticized their play on SportsCentre with Jay Onrait and guest host Jennifer Hedger.

“We have seen too much of this from the Edmonton Oilers post-Four Nations,” Button said. “We talk about the goaltending, but as a team, they have been awful defensively. The effort—you just saw it there—I wouldn’t even call that an effort. I would just call that like a free skate somewhere at the Edmonton Mall. That’s how bad it’s been, and if they’re going to play like this, they have no chance.” (1:05)

Button said goaltending is not the only issue, and the team is struggling defensively. He noted they had two strong periods against Carolina but fell apart in the third. Although, Edmonton won that game 3-1 to end their five-game losing streak.

Jennifer Hedger added that fatigue is not an excuse, as players like Leon Draisaitl did not participate in the 4 Nations.

Edmonton Oilers gave four first-period goals in loss to Ducks

The Edmonton Oilers lost 6-2 to the Anaheim Ducks at Rogers Place on Tuesday. Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said his team started well but lost focus after giving up the first goal.

“I thought our start was outstanding. I thought we were skating well, moving the puck, spent a lot of time in the offensive zone,” Knoblauch said, via NHL.com. “...we’re a fragile team and when things aren’t going well, we lose our game. 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 opened the scoring on a power play at 10:05 of the first period. He took a pass from Connor McDavid and fired a one-timer past Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal.

Leo Carlsson tied the game at 11:57 after intercepting a pass from Draisaitl and scoring from the slot. Mason McTavish made it 2-1 at 13:37 with a wrist shot through Calvin Pickard’s legs. Sam Colangelo added another goal at 18:26 when his deflection bounced in off Brett Kulak. Just 12 seconds later, McTavish scored again, lifting a loose puck over Pickard to give Anaheim a 4-1 lead.

Ryan Strome extended the Ducks' lead to 5-1 at 13:22 of the second period. Alex Killorn made it 6-1 at 3:56 of the third. McDavid scored the Edmonton Oilers’ second goal on a power play 47 seconds later, but the Ducks held on for the win.