Things are just going from bad to worse for the Edmonton Oilers, and the losses are piling up at the moment.
They entered the season as Stanley Cup favorites, but at the moment, they’re 7th in the Pacific Division, only ahead of the San Jose Sharks.
The Oilers, with a game to spare, are six points behind the Calgary Flames, and if they don’t get things going soon, their hope for the playoffs later this season will soon be gone.
When a team struggles, it’s important for star players and veterans to step up, but Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl haven’t played up to standards this season, and especially McDavid has looked like a shadow of his former self.
McDavid just sits on an average of a point per game to start the 2023-24 campaign. Although he had an assist in Wednesday’s matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes, he received heavy criticism for how he played.
With the Hurricanes up 4-1 in the game, Martin Necas managed to get an easy goal as he tapped the puck into the net in front of the goal.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were both on the ice and close to the goal-scorer when Necas made it 5-1, and they both got absolutely slammed for their lame attempt at playing defense.
“Holy f**k what was that defense,” one said.
“They would be better off playing 4v5 than having Drai on the ice, because at least at 4v5 another Oiler would notice the guy isn’t covered instead of seeing Draisaitl pretending to cover them,” another said.
“They’re just tanking their trade value so they can get out of there faster,” a third added.
But it wasn’t just fans who slammed the two superstars.
Former NHL player and current NHL analyst Mike Johnson was harsh in his assessment of Draisaitl and McDavid on NHL Tonight.
“Connor, he creates points in offense, but him and Leon defensively, they’re not good enough. And they’re not scoring 250 points between them. He can say, ’We have to be better,’ and he’s right. But it probably starts with him. And it starts with Leon,” he said.
“They have to get their habits. Kane, as well, but it starts with 97 and 23. They’re the best players, they play 24-25 minutes each. They have to get better away from the puck. Especially with the way they’ve been in goaltending, and the amount of goals that are going in. They have to lead, not just by trying to score, but being better defensively.”
