Another game, another phenomenal effort from a player in the Edmonton Oilers. The night towards Thursday Swedish time it was again Leon Draisitl who led his team to victory, this time through two goals and an assist in the Oilers’ 5-2 victory over the Nashville Predators.
–
And the teammates were not late to share their tributes to the 26-year-old German.
– If you become MVP as he became a couple of years ago, you obviously play well, but the way he plays this season… I really think he has broadened his game. That’s the best I’ve seen him play, at least. He has become a couple of years older now and built on with confidence. He is big and strong and knows what he can do on the ice, praises Ryan Nugent-Hopkins his teammate to NHL.com/sv.
Draisaitl started the match against the Predators by giving the Oilers the lead with 1-0 6:42 into the first period. With one man more on the ice shifted Connor McDavid position from right to left and rotated the puck back to Nugent-Hopkins who from his back position directly passed Draisaitl in the right technical circle.
A direct shot later and 1-0 was a fact.
3:41 into the third period it was time again. McDavid sniffed the puck and transported it from his own zone to the attack zone. Once there, he released the puck back to Draisaitl who from his trailing position scored his second goal of the match – a hit that at the time meant a 3-1 lead for the Oilers.
Together with Evan Bouchard Draisaitl then scored an assist on Jesse Puljujärvi’s 5-2 goal in an empty cage with 3:10 left to play.
Video: NSH @ EDM: Draisaitl scores two goals, assist
– They have [Draisaitl] is one of the league’s absolute top players, says Bouchard. There is a reason why he received an award as the league’s MVP a couple of years ago. He is an outstanding, versatile player. If you want him to win drawings for someone, he does it, if you want him to scoop points, he does it and if you want him to defend a lead in the final minutes, he does it.
– It’s just to enjoy seeing him.
With seven points over its last two games – Draisaitl accounted for four points (2 + 2) in the Oilers’ 5-2 victory over Seattle Kraken the game before – the center has whizzed up the points league in the NHL, one point ahead of radar partner Connor McDavid.
Draisaitl’s 20 points (9 + 11) in nine games make him the only seventh player in the last 30 years to reach the 20-point plateau faster than in ten games.
While Draisaitl and McDavid – 19 points (7 + 12) in nine games – east in points, the Oilers have collected victory after victory and can now add an 8-1-0 start to the action.
Draisaitl himself, however, takes it all in stride.
– We have definitely got off to a good start, but it was something we discussed from the beginning within the group – to come out strong, the German said after the victory over Predators. With that said, we have not achieved anything yet, so the most important thing now is that we continue to do the job and continue to find ways to get better all the time.
However, the notoriously performance-driven center could afford to show some appreciation for the team’s hot start:
– There is absolutely a lot we can improve but at the same time you do not go 8-1-0 if you play completely lousy and only have the bounces on your side.
The Edmonton Oilers’ jump-start to the 2021-22 season testifies to a revenge-hungry, goal-oriented team that does not intend to leave anything to chance.
Initially, Connor McDavid showed signs that he used the summer to find a new gear to put in. Recent matches have Leon Draisitl put in the same gear. That alone should be a scary thought for the opposing teams in both the Pacific Division and the rest of the NHL. But perhaps the most frightening thing for the rest of the league is that the duo seem to have brought the entire Edmonton Oilers on the train.
As Draisaitl said after the team defeated Kraken earlier this week:
– We can win in all different ways; through our powerplay, our special teams, our goalkeeper, our backs, our defensive chains. It is a pretty nice asset to have as a team.
– .
