Draisaitl says he’ll be better for Oilers tonight

The Edmonton Oilers fighting off a 3-0 Stanley Cup Final deficit to make the series 3-2 is impressive itself, but perhaps even more surprising is that they’ve done so without much help from Leon Draisaitl.

Draisaitl, who suffered an undisclosed injury in the Oilers’ second-round series versus the Vancouver Canucks, is believed to still be playing at less than 100%. The stats back that up, as the usually dominant playoff performer had just four points in six games of the Western Conference Final versus the Dallas Stars and is without a goal through five games against the Panthers.

That said, Draisaitl has proven capable of producing big numbers in the playoffs while playing through an injury. During the 2022 playoffs, he managed a ridiculous 32 points in 16 games despite dealing with a high-ankle sprain. Though it isn’t known what he may be battling this time around, he seems confident he can overcome it and play much better tonight as well as in a possible Game 7.

“Obviously not happy with the way I’m playing, I haven’t found my game, haven’t found my legs,” Draisaitl told reporters this morning. “Just not the standard that I hold myself to. I’m excited to come into the series tonight.”

Though Draisaitl clearly doesn’t believe his game has been up to par, his head coach, Kris Knoblauch, seems to think he’s being too hard on himself.

“Leon puts a lot of pressure on himself,” Knoblauch said. “I think the best players always want to be the best and expect a lot out of themselves. I’ve seen Leon play better than he has, but I think he’s been contributing a lot, and I think he’s harder on himself than he should be.”

Having Draisaitl get back to playing like his elite self would take a lot of pressure off Connor McDavid, who has been an absolute force with eight points over the past two games. Should they both play at their best tonight, there is a great chance this series will see a Game 7 be played on Monday night.

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