“I wouldn’t want to play us in the first round”: Draisaitl confident in Oilers

Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

The Edmonton Oilers are rolling.

And Leon Draisaitl is feeling confident in his club.

“I think we know when we play our game and we stick to what we’re good at, we’re a really hard team to beat,” Draisaitl, third in NHL scoring with 101 points (50 goals, 51 assists) said Tuesday. “We obviously have a lot of offence, but if we stick to the way we want to compete defensively and stick to our details…I wouldn’t want to play us in the first round or in the playoffs in general.

“It is important, with that being said, that we do stick to our details and take pride in doing the little things right.”

"I think on the defensive side of things, that's what we want to look like."

Draisaitl on the #Oilers keeping an offensively talented team like Colorado to one goal as they look to carry over that structure tonight in Minnesota.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/Zs7zEyB0ie

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 12, 2022

The Oilers are the hottest team in the Pacific Division over the past 10 games, fetching 15 of a possible 20 points by way of a 7-2-1 record. Only the Colorado Avalanche, who bested Edmonton in overtime on Saturday, and the Minnesota Wild have better marks in the Western Conference.

But to look at the bigger picture, and a 12-2-2 record over their past 16 games and no team in the NHL has accumulated more points than the Oilers since March 9.

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“The way we’ve been playing the last couple of months has shown what we can do as a team,” Edmonton centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins told media. “Teams that we’ve played against, the top teams in the league, we’ve handled them pretty well. We should be a confident group in here and I think that we are. We’ve got to keep building on that.”

The run has allowed the Oilers to build a bit of a cushion going into the final three weeks of the season. Edmonton sits four points clear of the Los Angeles Kings with one game at hand for second in the Pacific Division. They’re a full six points up on the fourth-place Vegas Golden Knights with an even nine games remaining.

“We see it. We pay attention,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “For us as a group here, we need to focus less on that and focus on ourselves and getting ourselves into a position. Obviously, nothing is set in stone here. We have to keep getting points and set ourselves up to be in a playoff spot like we are right now. It’s a fight, especially in the Western Conference. It’ll be interesting to see what happens down the stretch here.

“We’ve got to focus on ourselves and go from there.”

The focus will be on a quick two-game road trip that features the Wild and Nashville Predators.

The former is firmly fixed in second in the Central Division. The latter is clinging to the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the West.

From there, the focus shifts home for another three key games — Vegas on Saturday, the Dallas Stars on Wednesday, and a return date with Colorado on Friday — which could help determine the playoff fate of more than just the teams involved.

Entering action Tuesday, the Oilers hold a 98.3% chance of qualifying for postseason play, according to MoneyPuck. Edmonton had a 36.2% chance of missing the playoffs on February 24.

“These games are great,” Draisaitl said. “A lot of good teams, a lot of playoff teams coming up here. Lots on the line.

“It gets you ready for a strong push and eventually the playoffs.”