'We'd love to turn this around for the city': Draisaitl hopes to end Oilers' slump against Flames
Leon Draisaitl knows the Edmonton Oilers could be playing a lot better.
He knows there are no excuses about the 6-0 loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday, a third-period collapse he deemed "unacceptable."
Last time Draisaitl talked with the media earlier this week, a reporter called him "pissy" for being short with him.
However on Saturday, hours before the season's second Battle of Alberta, the German star was more enthusiastic in his answers and hopeful the team would turn it around.
"It's us in the room that have to stick together and that have to get the job done. We're sticking together no matter what. It's been like that all year, it's going to continue to be like that," Draisaitl said.
"We would love to turn this around for the city as well. I know how much the Oilers mean to the fans and to the city."
At the start of December, the Oilers had the best record in the NHL with 16 wins out of 21 games.
Since then, Edmonton has the worst record in the league, with only two mid-December wins in their last 15 contests.
The Oilers now sit seventh in the Pacific Division and six points back of the final playoff spot.
Edmonton has had success against the Calgary Flames in recent seasons and won the Battle of Alberta 5-2 on Oct. 16.
"Hopefully tonight is the night stuff goes in our direction," Draisaitl said.
"We're obviously looking to get out of this slump…tonight would be a great time to start that."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.