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Draisaitl raves about his love for the Edmonton Oilers after huge performance

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
|
Mar 15 2025, 3:35 pm
Draisaitl raves about his love for the Edmonton Oilers after huge performance
Thomas Salus/Imagn Images

Even amidst some recent struggles, Leon Draisaitl absolutely loves being a part of the Edmonton Oilers organization.

The German superstar has been one of few bright spots for the Oilers as of late, and continued his excellent season Friday night with two goals in a big 2-1 overtime win over the New York Islanders. He not only leads the league by a wide margin with 49 goals, but was able to pick up his 100th point of the season with his game winner.

“I love being an Oiler, it means the world to me,” Draisaitl said post-game when asked about recording his fourth-straight 100-point season. “I have teammates that understand me and without them none of this is possible.”

Draisaitl is having arguably the best season of his career, and is in what feels like a two-man race versus Nathan MacKinnon for the Hart Trophy. He wasn’t interested in talking about himself in any matter last night, however. After his high praise for his team, the 29-year-old gave a huge shoutout to Calvin Pickard, who picked up an assist on the overtime winner.

“That’s all Picksy. That’s great hockey sense,” Draisaitl gushed. “That’s something that a lot of people wouldn’t notice or appreciate. For him to have the guts to come out there and play that puck, that’s the only reason we scored here. Great play by him, he was fantastic all night.

“He’s always great. We love him. He’s a heart and soul kind of guy. We appreciate everything he does for us. I think you can see that we truly love playing for him.”

While Draisaitl was the hero in this one, Pickard gave the Oilers the goaltending performance they’ve desperately needed, kicking aside 24 of the 25 shots he faced. With the win, the Oilers have jumped back ahead of the LA Kings to take over second place in the Pacific Division.

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