“Draisaitl a man on a mission,” declared Sportsnet play-by-play announcer Harnarayan Singh moments before the German superstar lost the ensuing offensive-zone faceoff but immediately stole the puck back and killed the remaining seconds on the clock to close out the win.
“I think Leon doesn’t get enough credit for how well he plays defensive hockey,” Oilers Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said after his first playoff series win as an NHL bench boss. “Whether it’s regular season or the playoffs, he’s good at it, and in this series I think that was a huge difference, how well he played at both ends of the rink.”
Earlier in the night, Draisaitl scored his fourth and fifth goals of the series to give him 10 points in the five games. The centreman also won 63 percent of his defensive-zone faceoffs (5-for-8) on Wednesday and secured 57 percent of his total draws in the series.
“Great,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said when asked about Draisaitl’s Game 5 performance. “Winning big draws out there at big moments, winning a big battle there at the end of the game to not only get the puck out, but draw a penalty. Those are huge things.
“He’s a big man, and when he’s got his feet moving and he’s playing hard on both sides of the puck, there’s not many guys better than him in the whole world. It’s impressive to watch, and he always seems to bring that game this time of year.”