Oilers save the start of the season
Draisaitl shines and sets a franchise record
October 18, 2023, 8:42 a.m
The first step towards the “ultimate goal”: After their poor start to the season, the Edmonton Oilers achieve the hoped-for liberation in the NHL. Once again they have one man to thank: Leon Draisaitl, who also sets a record.
With his best performance of the season, national ice hockey player Leon Draisaitl led the Edmonton Oilers to their first win in the NHL. The 27-year-old from Cologne scored four points in the 6-1 win against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday evening (local time). In addition to his goals to make it 1-0 and 5-1, he also prepared Zach Hyman’s 2-0 and Connor McDavid’s 4-0.
After three games this season, Draisaitl now has seven scorer points. After the two defeats against the Vancouver Canucks with a goal difference of 4:12, the win against Nashville was the hoped-for liberation for the ambitious team from Edmonton.
Draisaitl also set an Oilers record with his two goals from power-numbered situations. His opening goal was the 127th goal of his career from a power play, overtaking Ryan Smyth and Glenn Anderson and later extending the record to 128 such goals. He needed 641 games to set the record, while Smyth and Anderson needed 971 and 845 games respectively.
In 24 games against Nashville so far, Draisaitl also has a strong record of 24 goals and 15 assists. “Sometimes it works better against certain teams than against others,” said Draisaitl. “I’m sure it’ll stop at some point. I hope I can extend it for a few more games.”
At the start, Draisaitl and the Oilers suffered two defeats. The Cologne native has big plans for his tenth NHL season. After Edmonton failed in the playoffs to eventual winners in each of the last two seasons, winning the Stanley Cup is the center’s “ultimate goal.”