Leon Draisaitl has nine goals in six games, and he is not enjoying it as much as the numbers suggest. After practice on Monday, the Edmonton Oilers superstar said he gets paid to score goals, and when he is not scoring goals, it rattles him and frustrates him. It was an unusually honest admission from one of the best goal scorers in the world, and it landed two days after a game that showed exactly why he feels that pressure: in Toronto’s 7-2 win over Edmonton on Saturday, Draisaitl scored both Oilers goals, Connor McDavid assisted on each, and no other Oiler recorded a point.
Draisaitl’s streak is real and remarkable. He has nine goals in his six game goal scoring streak, good enough to be named the NHL’s first star of the week, and his line, which also includes McDavid and Vasily Podkolzin, has been dominant to start the season. In the Toronto game, Draisaitl scored at 19:04 of the second period and again at 16:35 of the third, both times assisted by McDavid and Evan Bouchard. McDavid himself had accumulated 33 points through 11 games, including eight goals and 25 assists, leading the NHL scoring race alongside his linemate.
When a heater becomes a burden
Draisaitl said he understands that scoring stretches do not last, and that he will take them as they come and battle through the tough times when they arrive. That is the mature view, but it also reveals the trap Edmonton is in. When a team’s offense depends on two players to this degree, a dry spell for either one is not a slump, it is a crisis. Toronto showed how to exploit it: defenseman Darren Raddysh helped hold McDavid and Draisaitl scoreless at five on five in eight minutes head to head, with Toronto outscoring them 2-0 in that span, while the rest of the Oilers lineup could not compensate.
The game itself was a complete Toronto performance. Jack Roslovic opened the scoring at 14:16 of the first period, Auston Matthews doubled the lead at 5:29 of the second, and Troy Stecher made it 3-0 just 54 seconds later. William Nylander scored twice in the third period, including his 300th NHL goal, and Toronto improved to 7-4-2 with its fourth straight victory, its first four game winning streak since January. Edmonton fell to 8-2-1, its three game winning streak ending in front of a home crowd that had little to cheer after the opening minutes of the third period.
What Edmonton must fix
Coach Mike Babcock acknowledged the need for additional contributions after the loss, saying the team needs more, for sure, and he has kept McDavid and Draisaitl together for now. Reports of Draisaitl’s honesty framed his streak as a heater, and Press Headliner’s account of history’s weight is a reminder that streaks, like series leads, do not protect themselves. Draisaitl’s nine goals in six games are a gift. Edmonton’s task is to make sure it does not need ten in the next six just to stay competitive.
