It’s surprising that the NHL’s leading scorer and second-leading point producer isn’t considered the best player on his team.
Welcome to the world of Leon Draisaitl.
Superstar captain Connor McDavid is still the king in Edmonton, but Draisaitl showed again on Friday why he deserves 1B, scoring the go-ahead goal with 1:35 left to give the Oilers a 3-2 victory against -Anaheim visiting.
The Oilers will try to extend their winning streak to three games when they play Saturday night in Seattle, their first of four meetings with the Kraken this season.
Draisaitl’s game-winner was his career-best 28th of the season and his ninth. The recipient of the 2019-20 Hart Trophy as NHL MVP is second only to Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (64) with 57 points.
McDavid, the league’s three-time MVP and five-time leading scorer, is tied for fourth with 54 points, having missed three games this season due to injury.
“I take a lot of pride in stepping up when it’s needed the most,” Draisaitl said. “It’s something that’s very important to me and I’m proud of it.”
The Oilers scored the first two goals in the game before letting the Ducks take it.
“It wasn’t perfect by any means — when you have those leaders you want to make sure you bring them home,” Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said. “But when we were challenged at the end, we found a way to get that last shot.”
Despite hitting the winner, Draisaitl was critical of his performance.
“We had a lot of good shifts and good looks; their goalkeeper made great stops,” he said. “But I think, with everything, especially with my name and my line, there’s been a lot of turnover. It feels like momentum — we’re going to have it and then it’s going to happen, and then it’s back-and-forth.
“That was mostly our line, especially me. It happens. Those plays come every once in a while, and you just learn from them.”
The Kraken, meanwhile, snapped a two-game winning streak with a 4-3 loss Thursday in visiting Vancouver, despite falling two points behind in the final 11 minutes to force overtime. Defenseman Vince Dunn scored the tying goal with 53 seconds left in the third period.
“We came back strong in the third and were able to tie it,” said Kraken striker Matty Beniers, who has scored in three consecutive games. “It was a good setback, but if we can put ourselves in better situations going into the third, I think we will have more success.”
It was similar to last weekend’s historic comeback in Vancouver, when the Kraken became the third team to win after scoring three points in five minutes of regulation in a regular season game.
Despite their 2-0-1 stretch, the Kraken are seven points behind in the hunt for the second and final Western Conference wild card game.
“Right now, it doesn’t matter how. You have to keep scoring (points),” defenseman Brandon Montour said. “We’re in a hole. We’ve put ourselves in a position where we need to get as many wins and as many points as we can.”
–Field Level Media