Leon Draisaitl is scoring goals in the NHL playoffs at a rate not seen in four decades.
Leon Draisaitl is scoring goals in the NHL playoffs at a rate not seen in four decades.
The big German has 13 goals through Edmonton’s first 10 games, the most since Mark Messier scored 14 in 1983 and the third-highest total through 10 games in more than a century. Newsy Lalonde had 17 in 1919.
If the Oilers — now tied at two games apiece with Vegas in the second round — reach the Stanley Cup Final, Draisaitl could blow past the record of 19 goals set by Philadelphia’s Reggie Leach in 1976 and matched by Edmonton’s Jarri Kurri in 1985.
“There’s almost nothing that Draisaitl does anymore that surprises me,” retired player-turned-analyst Ray Ferraro said. “He’s an amazing player.”
How amazing? Oilers teammate Connor McDavid recently called Draisaitl “the best player in the world a lot of nights,” high praise from the player on the verge of being named league MVP for the third time.
“Obviously he’s playing on another level,” McDavid said.
Draisaitl’s success hasn’t exactly come out of nowhere. The 27-year-old from Cologne led all scorers with 110 points in 71 games in 2019-20 before the season was cut short because of the pandemic
