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Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers (Simon Fearn-Imagn Images)

3 Takeaways From Oilers’ 4-3 Loss to Flames

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Brian Swane | Last updated Feb 5, 2026 10:45 AM ET

The Edmonton Oilers wrapped up the pre-Olympic portion of their schedule on Wednesday (Feb. 4), falling by a score of 4-3 to the host Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl scored twice, and Kasperi Kapanen also tallied for the Oilers. Calgary got one goal apiece from Matvei Gridin, Jonathan Huberdeau, Ryan Lomberg and Connor Zary.

Oilers netminder Tristan Jarry made 21 saves, while Calgary goalie Devin Cooley stopped 36 shots in a winning effort. Edmonton went 2-for-4 on the power play, while the Flames were 2-for-3 with the man advantage.

This was the third consecutive loss for the Oilers, who dropped to 28-22-8. With 64 points, Edmonton sits second in the tightly contested Pacific Division, two points back of the Vegas Golden Knights and one point ahead of both the Anaheim Ducks and Seattle Kraken.

Loss to Flames Is Microcosm of Oilers’ Struggles

Fresh off two straight losses to end their lengthy homestand with a disappointing 4-4-0 record, the Oilers badly needed a win on Wednesday to head into the Olympic break on a good note. Now the Oilers have three weeks to stew on what has been a pretty poor stretch of hockey amid a very mediocre season from a team that’s supposed to be a Stanley Cup contender.

Wednesday’s game was pretty much a microcosm of the Oilers’ recent struggles: They played poorly defensively, got subpar goaltending, couldn’t kill a penalty, and were left chasing the game after giving up an early goal.

In fact, when you look at everything that’s going wrong with this team, it’s a wonder the Oilers even had a chance on Wednesday. And yet, there they were, tied at 3-3 in the third period, after Kapanen simply shot the puck into Cooley’s body and it somehow wound up in the back of the net.

But the Oilers couldn’t even take advantage of that gift from the hockey gods. Less than two and a half minutes later, Jarry made an easy save but kicked the puck directly to Lomberg, who scored what would prove to be the winning goal.

Oilers’ Penalty Kill Is a Disaster

The tone was set on Wednesday only 3:12 into the game, when Huberdeau scored with the man-advantage to put Calgary ahead 1-0. After Draisaitl tied things up by scoring his first of two power-play goals on the night, the Flames retook the lead with another power-play goal, this time from Gridin, at 14:44 of the first period.

Edmonton has the top power play in the NHL, leading the league in both power-play percentage (31.4%) and power-play goals scored (50, tied with the Dallas Stars) this season. Yet, somehow, the Oilers haven’t had the edge in special teams lately, thanks to their horrendous penalty kill.

Over the last five games, Edmonton is just 5-for-14 (35.7%) killing penalties, and many of those nine power-play goals against have proven quite costly, just as was the case at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday.

The most baffling part of Edmonton’s PK problems is that the Oilers had a penalty kill rate of 91.2% over their 15 games between Dec. 22 and Jan. 22, which ranked first in the NHL during that month-long span. Until they get their PK back on track, the Oilers are going to continue having results like their latest in Calgary.

Draisaitl Gives Brutally Honest Comments

Wednesday was a milestone night for Draisaitl, who moved in front of the legendary Mark Messier for fourth most regular season points in Oilers history (Draisaitl now has 1,036, two more than Messier). But he almost looked distraught when he spoke to the media following the game.

Edmonton’s alternate captain held nothing back, as he gave a brutal, but honest, assessment of where his team is at following this latest loss.

“We’re not consistent enough,” Draisaitl said. “This league’s too hard to just lollygag through games and try to get winning streaks going, and we need everybody; it starts with coaches. Like, everybody. You’re never going to win if you have (only) four or five guys going, and it starts at the top. We can be better, our leaders can be better, and we’ll take the break and regroup.”

Asked about the Oilers’ success of years past (back-to-back runs to the Stanley Cup Final in 2025 and 2026), Draisaitl was even blunter: “We’re a different team. We’re not the same team. We’re not as good right now, we’re not even close. We need to understand that. It’s time. Obviously, there’s a break now, but when we come back, we’ve got to get going.”

Draisaitl is one of three Oilers, along with fellow German Joshua Samanski and Canadian Connor McDavid, who are headed to Italy to represent their country at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. The Oilers’ next game is Feb. 25, when they visit the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center.