What Draisaitl said about controversial Edmonton Oilers offside call
The Edmonton Oilers very nearly completed the comeback against the Toronto Maple Leafs last night, but a pesky offside call wiped it out.
For a moment, it appeared that Leon Draisaitl had wired home the equalizer in the dying minutes, erasing a 4-1 deficit from the beginning of the third period. Rogers Place was electric as the game seemed destined for an unlikely overtime period.
Yet, the dreaded announcement from the referee came shortly after the goal that the Leafs challenged for an offside. It was close, but the officials eventually decided that Oilers defenceman John Klingberg was offside and that the goal would not count.
It proved to be the difference as Edmonton could not get another tying goal and lost the game 4-3.
“I had no idea in the moment [that the play was offside],” Draisaitl told reporters after the game. “At the end of the day, it is offside, that’s the rule and we have to live with that.
“Sometimes, it’s always unfortunate it’s centimetres.”
Leon Draisaitl's late game-tying goal is called back due to an offside coach's challenge. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/DWFAHv8Cbe
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 2, 2025
It was a play that put a damper on what was a great hockey team. The Oilers had no business being that close to tying up that game. They had fallen to a 3-0 deficit in the opening period and allowed Mitch Marner to increase the lead to 4-1 in the opening minute of the final frame.
Timely goals by Zach Hyman and Corey Perry, however, willed the Oilers back into striking distance. Perry mentioned after the game that he thought the bench took the no-goal call well and still had every chance to tie things up.
“I thought we had a couple of great chances right after that,” Perry said. “We executed, just couldn’t get it into the net… we had our chances, we just couldn’t find one at the end.”
"Couple turnovers led to penalties against & then their power play went to work. We eliminate those turnovers, I think we would have a better start."
Corey Perry on the #Oilers early deficit vs. Toronto.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/wSTn4Bp0St
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 2, 2025
It’s certainly a tough break for the Oilers to have such a crucial goal taken off the board. The fact of the matter is, however, that the team dug themselves too big of a hole early in the game. It may have been a valiant effort to come back, but Edmonton shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place.
They will now head back on the road and will try to play a more complete game when they visit the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.