Leon Draisaitl puts the Edmonton Oilers on his back in BOA

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What a hockey game Saturday night!

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The National Hockey League deceived fans when it arranged just three Alberta campaigns in a season.

But like all great dramas, this drama is at the heart of its plot.

More in this version…

9 Things

9. I’ve lost the number of times I’ve completely written off Corey Perry this season, or (my included) suggesting that he plays less frequently. But he has been influencing the game. No one saw his sixteen goals this season. His scrap helped set the parameters of Saturday’s game. I’ve heard people suggest that Perry might stand out in the playoffs once everyone is healthy. What do I think? No chance.

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8. I won’t shut down many oilers games. But I just did it in the middle of the Seattle game. I ended up going back, dutifully replaying it to minimize pain, and still have the proper point of view to write it believable here. Fans hate this. But, in addition to back-to-back factors and key injuries, this also violates a non-competitive team. I know most of you are not the same thing. But this is happening to teams at all levels.

7. I know some people are disappointed that Matt Savoie didn’t get the call when the Oiler suddenly became briefly moving forward. But there are two big problems. One, lack of hat space. But two (and more importantly), your farm club is important. Bakersfield is competing with Calgary and Tucson for the AHL playoffs. The best player of the Condors was pulled from the equation for 10-12 minutes each night in Edmonton, where the club’s locked position did not exacerbate the organization’s victory.

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6. There are two ways for oil workers to organize. One (hopefully) will lead to the Stanley Cup and will get most of the ink. But another far-reaching consequence: amateur procurement. Rebuild a thin foundation of organizational prospects. The 23-year-old German center Josh Samanski may sign. However, the landscape at the college level signing side has been worrying, which makes the shy franchise quiet on draft picks.

5. Rookie Edmonton goalkeeper Olivier Rodrique is one of the few highlights that the Seattle Oilers were originally frustrating. It’s always special when a young man plays his first NHL game. While the last twenty minutes are certainly not good for the Oilers in the short term, Rodrigue’s appearance may be useful in the future. If he happens to be injured during the playoffs and Rodrigue takes action again, at least he has that experience.

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4. If we are looking for silver linings right now, I suggest Jeff Skinner is the Edmonton Oilers. It’s easy to see these points finally starting to pile up for him. I also saw a player skating much more and showing confidence in the attacks that were absent from the first fifty or so games. We have already talked about improvements on the other side of the hockey in the early column. Frankly, it cannot come at a more appropriate time. He got a huge O/T assist on Saturday.

3. Just a moment, let’s assume Thursday’s defensive performance in Seattle was a one-off for D-Corps: We can agree that Stan Bowman did a reasonable job 1) improved the D’s blue line in meaningful ways with Jake Walman and 2). In addition to the top five that look above average, the depth maps on Troy Stecher, Ty Emberson and John Klingberg also provide some work for Kris Knoblauch. They represent 1,376 NHL regular seasons, and the Stanley Cup playoff game value is worth it.

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2. What I actually saw from Evander Kane these days was limited to a few edits from him taking part in the oil worker practice and Morning Ice. But, in this and what I have heard, Kane’s progress has increased significantly. Between this and the encouraging words of Kris Knoblauch, I think Kane can play in the Stanley Cup playoffs. I certainly agree that we should brake the possibility of Kane reaching the 2021-22 level. For thirty months, he has not become the “that” player. However, even the mid-season 2024-24 form is an important addition.

1. It’s now Leon Draisaitl’s four fifty-goal seasons. Now he tied for second place with Jari Kurri. Leon did this in an era when we had no crime in the eighties. The Big German returned Saturday after playing four games in the roster due to injury. But this certainly doesn’t seem to relax. The man had eight goals (eight!), which included a vicious wrist that was strapped on the tying goal and then won in the O/T. His fabulous cross-ice pass set up Viktor Arvidsson for other Edmonton goals. Draisaitl also got 50% of the speed in the face-off circle, and the 5V5 scoring chance on the watch is 19-8…oh, yes… 22:24 on the game. His six O/T goals this season? Set NHL record.

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Look: To say that the Edmonton Oilers 2024-25 NHL hockey season has not been lost by the script. If it doesn’t seem like one thing that seems to derail the game back to the Stanley Cup final, that’s another. But when the rest of the Oilers appear and get involved like a counter-fire flame, many close-up, hard hockey games will come down to your game destroyers.

In each final season, Edmonton’s natural instinct is to say that it is Connor McDavid. But this season, the Oilers have always been Leon’s team. Edmonton beat Calgary twice this year without a 97 squad. Draisaitl was the first star both times.

Once they get both of them back…beware.

Newly bluesky @kurtleavins.bsky.social. On Twitter @kurtleavins, threads @kleavins, leavinsonhockey’s Instagram, even on kurtleavins@mstdn.social, even on mastodon. This article is not generated by AI.

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