It’s a cliche but offence is skill, defence is hard work.
Somewhere the twain has to meet for the Edmonton Oilers, who have given up 25 goals in the last five games, trying to outscore their mistakes, and it’s not all on goalies Tristan Jarry and Connor Ingram.
Yeah, they could be better, but if you trotted out Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur in their primes, they would be digging pucks out of the net such is the Oilers’ disregard for a low-scoring game.
The last five games the Oilers have scored 22 times.
And they’re 3-2 with two OT wins.
‘Mental thing for us’
The Oilers got to two Stanley Cup finals by locking it down when needed, but their team defence has been laissez-faire for much of the season, but especially the last 10 days.
“It’s a lot between the ears,” said Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm.
“It’s respecting defence The last few games it’s looked easy, scoring four goals, five, six, outscoring teams, where you’re thinking ‘doesn’t matter if we give up three goals’ we’ll get more. But it doesn’t work that way every night. You saw it against Minnesota (7-3 loss Saturday), where you’re playing catch-up. It’s a mental thing for us.
“I’ve been on teams where it’s opposite, where you’re pretty good defensively but can’t seem to find goals. That’s a lot harder than finding your defence.
“We’ve shown it come playoff time (defending) but it’s not like you can just push a button. We know how we want to play, but it’s executing it.”
Indeed, you can talk the talk but you have to walk the walk.
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch has seen far too many glaring breakdowns. Not a lot of shots against, but grade ‘A’s on the goalies. Yes, they have to stop more, but, the Oilers can’t be traffic cops waving people through.
“I agree 100 per cent with what Kris says. We have to limit the breakaways, the odd-man (rushes). We have to give our goalies a chance, so they’re not seeing back-door passes across for easy tap-ins. Way too much of that,” said Ekholm.
“I mean, some of the games you come off the ice thinking pretty good about things, where there’s only two or three (weak defensive) instances you’re giving up, but they all end up goals. It’s different than some games, like where you’re really hemmed in and you can’t get out of the D zone. It’s just the quality of looks we’re giving up right now. We can’t have that.”
Edmonton Oilers goalies Connor Ingram (39) and Tristan Jarry (35) bump gloves after Jarry was pulled from the game against the Minnesota Wild during the second period on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. Jason Franson/Canadian Press
The fans always look at the goalies when pucks are finding their way past them. And, Jarry’s save percentage is only .873 in his 10 games with the Oilers, since being traded for Stuart Skinner.
Against the Wild, he faced seven shots in the second period and gave up three goals when they poured 17 at Jesper Wallstedt with nothing to show for it. Ingram has had better stats (.901 save percentage in 12 games), but they’ve both got the hook lately.
But, checking shouldn’t be optional for the guys in front of them.
“I would look at myself every time. I can be better, and we can do a better job as a team, excluding the goalies. If you want to go there, go there (criticizing the tenders) But if you’re committed to playing defence in front of them, they’ll show up as well,” said Ekholm.
Is it a mindset that needs adjusting? Weariness at 15 games in, say, January?
Both.
“I’m not looking for excuses but if you asked me who we’re playing tomorrow, I don’t know. We’ve played so many games to this point than last year. It’s a lot. But everybody’s doing it,” said Ekholm.
“The toughest part with all these games is getting emotionally up for every battle. It’s human nature. But it’s the same for everybody and others are playing pretty good defence. Like I said, not an excuse. But it’s a reason (for poor D). You can look at the x’s and o’s but if you don’t play with an edge, with that competitiveness and physicality, they’ll run you down.”
‘Awareness to details’
No argument from Knoblauch, as we said. He’s been exasperated.
“It’s about awareness to details, not paying attention or a commitment to playing good, defensive hockey. Scoring goals? Not an issue with us, whether it’s power play or five-on-five. But every time we’re out there we’re thinking about scoring rather than defending. I mean the last couple of years we’ve been pretty good at defending, not the best (NHL), but we’ve been one of the better teams. This year we haven’t been nearly at that level,” said Knoblauch.
“There’s too much confidence that we can score each shift… yes, we can get a save or two more, but our defence as a team, and that includes the defencemen and the forwards, it has to improve.”
Leon Draisaitl, getting ready for the Olympics, maybe as Germany’s flag-bearer, certainly isn’t a happy camper away from the puck. Too many mistakes.
A 6-2 loss to Pittsburgh, a 6-5 OT victory over Washington, a 7-4 loosey-goosey win over Anaheim, a 4-3 rally to beat San Jose, and the whuppin’ from Minnesota.
While the Oilers are still tied with the Vegas Golden Knights for first in the Pacific in the weakest of the four divisions, it’s been a season where they can score but defending is a concern.
Only four teams — Toronto, Anaheim, St. Louis and Vancouver — have given up more than the Oilers’ 185 goals. Only Colorado has scored more than their 193.
“The big picture is we’re in a good spot in our division and have a chance at winning it after the break but it’s about how the game feels. We have to find our groove, consistently playing better,” said Draisaitl.
“We have to focus on defending our way into a game, focus on defending our way to a win. We’ll score enough… but our mind-set has to shift with regard to defending. We know how to do it but it’s got away from us last few games. Time to dial it back in.”
This ‘n’ that
Draisaitl fell into the boards against Minnesota and missed several shifts with an issue with his right hand, but he says he’s fine.
“I caught a rut and went into the ref, but it wasn’t the ref (getting in the way). Just caught an edge and went in pretty hard (boards),” said Draisaitl.
Calvin Pickard, who went unclaimed Monday, won’t be reporting to the AHL until after the Olympic break. He will likely stay with the Oilers as third goalie for the last two league games against Toronto and in Calgary.
The Oilers may have to find another AHL farm team for Pickard to play for because they are ecstatic with the red-hot pairing of Matt Tomkins and Connor Ungar in Bakersfield.
The Oilers re-signed Finnish farmhand defenceman Atro Leppanen to a two-way one-year deal. Leppanen, who has been hurt in Bakersfield, will now get $850,000 if he makes Oilers next season and $360,000 to play in the AHL.
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