The Edmonton Oilers have struggled in the absence of Leon Draisaitl, as he deals with an injury, and they dropped another game on Saturday (Mar. 21), losing 5-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Related: Oilers News & Rumours: Draisaitl Injury,m Defensive Play, Interest in Hughes
After the loss, Connor McDavid had some strong words when asked about the Lightning and their system, plus their style of play, and he seemed to be calling out not only the coaching staff, but his teammates as well.
McDavid post game on the lightning
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) March 22, 2026
“They got a great system. They’re perfectly coached. They all know what they’re doing all over the ice. It’s impressive. They are a great team.”
“They’re extremely well coached they’re extremely well organized. They’re very very rehearsed in…
“That’s a coaching question you can ask [Knoblauch] that question,” McDavid said. He continued: “Obviously, we’ve been playing together a long time, and we feel like we’re somewhat rehearsed and organized, but not to their level.”
No matter what way it’s interpreted, it didn’t sound like a vote of confidence in the team from McDavid. He has told reporters previously that the entire room believes in themselves and believes they can have another deep run, but in recent weeks, it seems as though something has changed.
The Oilers are a worse team without Draisaitl, there is no doubt about that, but they have the depth on paper to remain competitive. There is definitely some concern growing around the Oilers.
McDavid also mentioned post-game that the Oilers are lucky to be in the Pacific Division, alluding to how weak the other teams around the Oilers have been, calling the playoff race “a pillow fight.”
“We’re fortunate to play in this division. A lot of teams are fortunate to play in this division,” McDavid said. He continued: “We’re thankful not to have lost any ground. That being said, we have to find a way to win some games here on the road. We have to make up some ground.”
The Oilers are known for being more of a playoff team, and most fans expect to see the team elevate in the postseason as they have done in the previous two seasons, but the comments from the captain do not give the fans any relief from the stress they have faced over the last little while, and the confidence heading towards the playoffs is dwindling.
Everyone Remains Under Pressure
Fans continue to harp on head coach Kris Knoblauch for his questionable decision-making, and rightfully so. Splitting up McDavid and Matthew Savoie made close to zero sense, considering how strong they looked together as a duo, even if reuniting McDavid with Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins seemed like a smart decision because of their history together.
Nugent-Hopkins and newcomer Jason Dickinson have played well together, Josh Samanski has been playing well defensively, yet he splits up that duo and demotes Samanski. On top of that, he has continued to give Darnell Nurse, who has struggled mightily, more ice time.
He also refuses to split up Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard, despite their recent struggles together, and when Draisaitl was healthy, he continued to play him with McDavid at even strength, despite analytics indicating they are more efficient when on different lines.
There are numerous issues that everyone has with Knoblauch, but even if he gets swapped out at any point, the Oilers need to start playing better at both ends of the ice. They seem to be lacking confidence offensively, and they need to continue trying to clean up their defensive game and find some consistency.
The impressive play of goaltender Connor Ingram has been a breath of fresh air, but getting some consistency from Tristan Jarry would be nice as well. There are just eleven games left in the Oilers’ 2025-26 campaign, so they don’t have much time to try and figure things out before trying to go on another deep playoff run.
As the 2025-26 season moves along, be sure to continue following The Hockey Writers as your source for news, updates, and more from around the NHL and the hockey world.
