Draisaitl Not Worried, Says Oilers Offense Will Come

There’s a tendency in a hockey-made market like Edmonton for the fan base to get a little worried as the Oilers are already down a game in their best-of-seven series with the Winnipeg Jets. But, if you ask the players, especially Leon Draisaitl, the team isn’t worried.

Related: Jets Outhit Oilers, Keep McDavid Quiet To Take 1-0 Series Lead

"It's the playoffs. Everybody is going to check, everybody is going to be tight."

Draisaitl speaks following today's #Oilers practice in preparation for Game 2. pic.twitter.com/JRHymNPSC5

— x – Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) May 20, 2021

It’s not great being down a game early, but Draisaitl said, “We’ve come up with plenty of goals, I’m not worried. I think we had enough chances to win the game. ” He added, “The puck was on our side a lot more than theirs.” Saying eventually those chances are going to go in, “we’ve done it all year.”

Draisaitl did note that the Oilers could improve things, get to the net more and make life easier for themselves, but the game plan is to simply stick to it. Again, the team isn’t worried. He said it’s a long series and they’ll be ready for Game 2.

Even though he and Connor McDavid were left off the scoresheet, Draisaitl said there wasn’t any surprises for the Oilers when it came to how the Jets played. He believed this was less about the Jets and more about the Oilers not burying their chances. Coach Dave Tippett believes the Oilers need to create more chances too. “There weren’t a lot of grade-A chances. It was a bit of a cautious game.” he said when reviewing Game 1. He added, “That’s how I expect all the games to be right there. They’re going to be tight, you gotta capitalize on your chances and you can’t give much away.”

Perhaps the trick will be to add to their excellent transition game and try and find ways to get greasy goals to solve a goaltender in Connor Hellebuyck who looked to be in much better form than he was versus the Oilers through the regular season.

Other Oilers Notes: Smith and Bear Out

Coach Tippett also indicated that defenseman Ethan Bear and goaltender Mike Smith both sat out of today’s Oilers skate for maintenance purposes.

Smith took a shot in the collarbone that seemed to sting him a bit. He didn’t come out of the game and all indications are he’ll be good to go for Friday.

Next: Elias Pettersson Talks Injury, Contract Negotiations with Canucks