Draisaitl proving haters wrong, putting up another beast performance without McDavid

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Finnegan Frost
November 4, 2024 (8:44)

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The Edmonton Oilers continue to prove all the doubters wrong, beating their provincia rival by a score of 4-2.

It's no secret by now that the Oilers have been without their star player and captain Connor McDavid for the past two games, but it seems the Oilers are thriving during his absence. As a result of McDavid's lower body injury, the Oilers faithful have called out Leon Draisaitl to lead our troops to glory, and he's been flat out dominant.

Leon Draisaitl had a goal and two assists for the Edmonton Oilers in a 4-2 win over the host Calgary Flames on Sunday. Zach Hyman, Jeff Skinner and Mattias Janmark, with the empty-netter, scored for the Oilers (6-5-1), who won their fourth game in their last five and their second straight since captain and NHL star Connor McDavid was sidelined with an ankle injury. Edmonton's goalie Stuart Skinner stopped 28 shots for the win
-Canadian Press

Last night marked the second game the Oilers were tested without their captain, and the Oilers depth players seem to be answering the bell in every statistical category. Former 50 goal scorer Zach Hyman seems to be breaking out of his slump, notching the eventual game winner against Calgary Flames goaltender Dan Vladar.

After the big win, a few Oilers players singled Draisaitl out during their postgame interviews, emphasizing his overall contributions to the team over the course of the past two games.

«He's playing unbelievable,» Zach Hyman said after Sunday night's win over the Flames. «He's driving the bus right now for our team in all areas of the game. He's been phenomenal.»
-Zach Hyman

«Sometimes I think he gets overlooked when Connor does his thing,» Ekholm said. «I think there's nights where [Draisaitl] should be getting maybe bigger highlighters and bigger spotlights than he actually does. That's what the best do I think. They bring out the best in themselves when it's needed the most for our group and for our team and he's certainly done that.»
-Mattias Ekholm

The Oilers will look to keep the ball rolling against the New Jersey Devils tonight.