The return after his injury break had Leon Draisaitl presented differently. The Edmonton Oilers lost 5-2 at home to the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday. “Unfortunately, we’re far too unstable at the moment. We played two good thirds against Seattle, but lost the game in the middle section within ten minutes,” said the Cologne native after training on Wednesday about the previous evening’s defeat.
Video: SEA 5, EDM 2
According to Draisaitl, the team’s problems are less on the game level and more on the mental level. “First and foremost, we have to regain faith in ourselves and our strengths. As soon as an opponent comes back into the game and puts us under pressure, we become insecure. We have to learn to deal with these momentum swings better and react to them with more maturity. I’m confident we can do it,” he said.
Draisaitl is pinning his hopes on the second half of the season. He regards the previous year as a model. “We need that spirit of optimism that we had when Woody (coach Jay Woodcroft – ed.) came to us last year and brought a new tone,” he said. “If we stand on our hind legs and put our qualities on the ice, we can still achieve a lot.”