Connor McDavid, the consensus best player in the NHL, so often says there are several games each season where Edmonton Oilers teammate and buddy Leon Draisaitl deserves to be recognized as such.
Thursday night in Minnesota was the most obvious example of why McDavid feels that way.
Draisaitl was an absolute stud, dominating in every facet of the game while racking up 4 points in a convincing 7-1 road win over the Wild.
“Leon was really good,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters. “All our players really stood out — I can’t say that anyone had an off game — but Leon was at another level.”
Draisaitl came to play from his first shift.
He should have scored his league-leading 21st goal when it looked like he deposited a beautiful pass from McDavid at 6:59 of the first period on an Oilers power play. However, his shot nicked Zach Hyman’s stick while the winger was standing off to the side of the net. Draisaitl settled for an assist.
Later in the period, Draisaitl circled around the Minnesota zone with such force that he swatted away Wild forward Marcus Johansson as if he were a common house fly. Draisaitl then rounded the net and found linemate Kasperi Kapanen wide-open in front. Kapanen beat goalie Filip Gustavsson.
After setting up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ power-play goal in the second, Draisaitl got that 21st goal by capitalizing off the rush late in the frame.
Nice one, Leo 🌚 #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/69xlul1tFI
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 13, 2024
The goal wasn’t exactly a snipe. A pass from Evan Bouchard went off the stick of Wild winger Jakub Lauko before ricocheting off him. It was almost as bizarre and fluky as the goal Draisaitl scored from inside his own blue line against Marc-Andre Fleury when the Oilers hosted the Wild on Nov. 21.
However, Thursday’s goal was earned given his wonderful work and considering the sure one that wound up being credited to Hyman.
“It was karma,” Hyman said. “He got a good one back.”
Draisaitl showed why he’s a tour de force, why he’s easily one of the best players in the league. Like McDavid notes, he’s the best with considerable frequency.
Toying with the Wild is the latest evidence of Draisaitl’s excellence this season. With due respect to McDavid, it’s Draisaitl — not No. 97 — who’s been the Oilers’ best player.
For starters, the 42 points — with an equal number of goals and assists — lead the team. But it goes far beyond the stats.
Knoblauch mentioned a few times last season how impressed he was by Draisaitl’s ability to produce considering how infrequently he put him with wingers regarded as the team’s best. McDavid usually skated with Hyman and Nugent-Hopkins, whereas Draisaitl’s most common linemates were now-former Oilers Ryan McLeod and Warren Foegele, who repeatedly said how much Draisaitl elevated his game.
It’s been the same story this season.
The Oilers signed veterans Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson on July 1 to give Draisaitl more established linemates. Skinner was demoted before the team’s first homestand in October. Arvidsson had just 5 points in 16 games before missing the last month with an injury.
And so Draisaitl’s most common winger has been Vasily Podkolzin, a beloved teammate with a dog-on-the-bone mantra but someone who’s not lighting it up offensively. Podkolzin has three goals and 10 points in 29 games.
Draisaitl’s also spent the last four games with Kapanen, a waiver claim on Nov. 19, and hasn’t missed a beat.
“Leon, the last week or so, has really been on top of his game,” Knoblauch said.
Draisaitl has shined in all facets.
He produced back-to-back 3-point games — both wins — in the first two of three contests McDavid missed because of an ankle injury. He’s been the Oilers’ most consistent player all along.
The Oilers have outscored opponents 24-13 at five-on-five in the 476 minutes with Draisaitl on the ice in that situation, per Natural Stat Trick. That 65 goals for percentage is tops on the team.
Draisaitl’s 60 expected goals percentage at five-on-five trails only Podkolzin, McDavid and Hyman by tenths of a percent. The difference is essentially a rounding error. His 1.64 goals against per 60 minutes is elite stuff.
Draisaitl is in the pole position to win his first Rocket Richard Trophy after runner-up finishes in 2018-19 and 2021-22. He deserves consideration from voters for his second Hart Trophy and even the Selke Trophy for his defensive prowess — something that’s often been perceived as a weakness of his game.
“He’s been playing unbelievable — at both ends of the ice,” Hyman said. “He’s not getting enough credit for what he’s doing on the other end (defensively).
“He’s obviously scoring lots of goals and making lots of plays, but defensively he’s been unbelievable.”
Simply put, Draisaitl’s been doing it all this season. The Wild learned that the hard way again. He has four goals and 11 points in his last five games against them.
His output helped the Oilers to their first victory in the State of Hockey since Feb. 7, 2019, snapping a six-game losing streak. It was the first time they’d ever scored seven goals in a game against the Wild in Minnesota.
Draisaitl’s all-world performance wasn’t the sole reason they pasted the Wild, second in the NHL by points percentage. This was a complete team effort from backup goaltender Calvin Pickard on out as they won their fourth straight game and seventh of their last eight to improve to 17-10-2.
Thirteen Oilers got on the scoresheet, including a goal from Derek Ryan — his first in 46 games. They scored twice on the power play, and Connor Brown netted a short-handed marker.
“We were motivated to play a good hockey team,” Knoblauch said.
No one appeared more motivated than Draisaitl.
The only low point for the Oilers was top-pair defenceman Bouchard falling awkwardly after being checked by Wild forward Ryan Hartman late in the third period. Bouchard was shown on the Oilers bench favouring his left shoulder or arm by the Sportsnet broadcast.
Knoblauch said Bouchard will be re-evaluated Friday when the team returns to Edmonton. Losing him for any period would be a challenge for the Oilers to overcome.
That’s a potential problem for another day.
Thursday was all about Draisaitl, one of those nights when he’s the best of the best — the type of brilliance that makes McDavid sing his praises.
(Photo: Brad Rempel / Imagn Images)
