When the moment demanded excellence this Edmonton Oiler ...

To win the Stanley Cup, you do not just need talented players.

You do not just need to score goals and prevent them. A save. A block. A kill.

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To win this particular 28-game tournament, where the margins start off narrow and sharpen to razor-thin as the post-season marches on…you often need something extraordinary to come out on top.

We may have seen just that on Friday night in Vancouver.

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That and more on in this edition of…

9. I like Vancouver’s Nikita Zadorov lots. He could play for my team any day. But his sideways compliment of Oilers fans (“there’s pretty much nothing else to do in that city but watch hockey”) should be bulletin board material.

8. The officiating on Friday night sure left something to be desired. I thought the men in stripes missed obvious calls on both sides. It was a blemish on an otherwise tremendous game. You expect to get the odd “dog” in an 82-game regular season. No one is perfect. But are these referees at this point in the season not the crème-de-la-crème? Do we not demand that the players be better?

7. Kris Knoblauch cannot play his best players as much as he did Friday. But here is where we need to talk about the advantage you earn from winning a series in 5 games (like the Oilers did against L.A.) versus 6 (which is what it took for the Canucks to dispense Nashville). Vancouver now has 60 minutes less rest than their opposition. With margins so narrow, those things count.

6. All NHL players have strengths and weaknesses. But it is time to recognize that Evan Bouchard is not “just” an elite offensive player. I get as exasperated as the next guy over some of Bouchard’s defending. But at this stage of the season, when all teams are really good, and the pressure could not possibly be higher Evan is thriving. That context places Bouchard near “great” territory. It is the stage upon which reputations are made.

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5. Leon Draisaitl’s goal on Friday, his 37th post season marker, saw him pass Paul Coffey and Craig Simpson for 6th most in franchise history. More impressive? His performance also places him 6th in NHL post-season history for the most career Stanley Cup Playoff four-point games with 7. Ahead of him? “Only” Wayne Gretzky (26), Jari Kurri (11), Mark Messier (11), Paul Coffey (9) and Mario Lemieux. More on Leon in a minute…

4. It is largely immaterial now because the Edmonton Oilers won on Friday. But the 3-2 goal allowed by Stuart Skinner is still being hotly debated. The bottom line is that puck cannot go in from there. But I have time for the erudite observations of Henrik Lundqvist on the Reverse VH. If you have not seen the video of him demonstrating it (complete with trapper & stick) I highly recommend it to you. My favorite comment from it is “Stand up, please.” Yes. Stuart Skinner is 6’4. If he stays on his feet, the puck hits him. Period.

3. The 5-man unit Kris Knoblauch deployed against Vancouver on Friday was nearly unstoppable. It may have been one of the most dominant performances by a line of 5 Oilers skaters in the McDavid Era. But the trio of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman deservedly gets lots of ink already. The eye-popping stat lines from both Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm from that same game were really something else. Bouchard 5v5 was on for 19 scoring chances for versus 2 against. Ekholm was 18-2. Grade “A”’s for each of them was 10-2.

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2. But as fun as all that is, the hard facts are that the Edmonton Oilers need its depth to score. Otherwise, that is one hell of a lot to pile on 97, 29 and 18 every game. It may be sustainable in the short term because of just how elite they are. But in the longer term it is a gamble. The other guys are good, too. Now, some of the other Oilers are also playing quite well and it is probably just a matter of time before the likes of Evander Kane (who has been noticeable all playoffs) tally again. I have moderate expectations from guys who only play in the single digits each night. But those getting more than get graded harder. Warren Foegele was 16:58 of TOI Friday, Ryan McLeod 12:18. I am inclined to give Adam Henrique a pass on Friday, given the injury. But the time to step up for those guys…is now.

1.There are miles to go in this post-season. At least, as Oilers fans, you hope there is. But if this club goes on to do something special this Spring, will we look back at that Game 2 performance by Leon Draisaitl and go “that was the turning point”? His game was stunning enough going strictly by the numbers: Draisaitl played a whopping 27:05. A goal and three assists. +2. 4 shots on net. 5v5, Draisaitl was a jaw-dropping 36-9, a CF of 80%. The scoring chances were 18-2 with him on the ice at even strength. And despite his physical setback, he won a number of key draws.

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Oh yeah…and he was game-time decision to play at all. The coach did not have him down on the lineup card until after warm-up started, due to the injury he sustained 2 nights previous. Her was not sure if Draisaitl would be able to take a single faceoff. It may not quite have been Bob Baun scoring the Stanley Cup winning goal on a broken leg. But it ain’t chopped liver, either. To me, Leon is earning every penny of his $8.5m contract…and then some.

This incredible display of toughness and grit over flesh and blood harkens back to the gutsy effort Draisaitl put forth against Los Angeles and Calgary in 2022. That was a high ankle sprain. Now, he is is…doing a version of that again.

As I said with Bouchard, no player is perfect. But in a city like Edmonton, known for its hard work in face of adversity, what Leon Draisaitl is showing us should ring loud and true because that is the very thing that makes this town tick.

Someday, hopefully 10+ years from now (he can be a free agent after 2024-25), we will look back and say we were damn lucky to have him. Or…

…we could say it now.

Now on Threads @kleavins. Also, find me on Twitter @KurtLeavins, Instagram at LeavinsOnHockey, and Mastodon at [email protected]. This article is not AI generated.

STAPLES: Oilers 4 Canucks 3 (OT), Cult of Hockey Player Grades

McCURDY: How they were made, Canucks versus Oilers

LEAVINS: Ugly collapse in Game 1 for Oilers

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