The Edmonton Oilers’ superstar Leon Draisaitl has been on fire so far in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs. But it is obvious that the Oilers won’t be able to rely solely on his brilliance if they want to take down the Vegas Golden Knights.
Draisaitl scored four goals in Game 1 of the second-round series against Vegas on Wednesday night, and it still wasn’t enough to get a win for his team. No other Edmonton player managed to find the net, and Golden Knights ended up with a 4-6 victory to take the lead in the series.
Against Vegas, Draisaitl became the first Edmonton player to score four goals in a playoff game since Jari Kurri did it in 1987. He now leads the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs in goals (11) and points (15) while also becoming the fastest player in the history of the league to get to 11 goals in the postseason.
Despite playing a great game from an individual standpoint, Draisaitl focused on team performance during his chat with reporters after the game.
“We overall weren’t good enough,” said Draisaitl. “It’s not even close to how we successfully play. We’ve got to move on. We’ll be better.”
The Edmonton Oilers will now turn their attention to Game 2, scheduled for Saturday, and try to avoid falling into a 0-2 hole. In order to do so, they will have to play better defense and have other players step up alongside Draisaitl.
