Much like the hockey world did Wednesday for a vintage Draisaitl performance that served as a reminder of why he’s considered one of the best on the planet.
A year ago, he looked anything but that. His aches and pains resulted in just three assists in seven games against the Panthers, a series in which he never really looked like himself.
He does now, and it’s showing in the stats. Not only did his two-goal performance help give the Oilers a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series, it also bumped him up to 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists) in 17 playoff games this spring, second in NHL scoring behind teammate Connor McDavid, who has 28 (six goals, 22 assists).
“We don’t win the game tonight without him, so that tells you that story,” Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “He’s one of the top two guys, obviously, on our team, and maybe in the League. [Connor and Leon] were phenomenal out there. You saw the plays that they were making on a couple of goals tonight.
“He just looks very confident, very, very comfortable. He’s doing his thing.”
At a very high level, according to McDavid.
It was fitting that it was the Oilers captain who set up Draisaitl for the decisive goal after Panthers forward Tomas Nosek took a minor penalty for shooting the puck over the glass at 18:17 of overtime. Having been teammates for the past 10 years, their dream of finally winning the Stanley Cup together once again is in their sights.
As such, McDavid could not say enough about his teammate afterward.
“He’s invaluable,” McDavid said of Draisaitl. “Clutch goals, face-offs, you name it he does it. He doesn’t get enough respect or credit for his defensive capabilities either.
“There’s maybe nobody better.”
There certainly wasn’t on this night.
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