Leon Draisaitl comments on his lacklustre play in Stanley Cup Finals
With the Edmonton Oilers on the brink of elimination again, Leon Draisaitl is not pleased with his efforts to date and is looking to improve as soon as possible.
Draisaitl was nothing short of spectacular during the first three rounds of the NHL Playoffs. The 28-year-old former MVP had scored 10 goals and 28 points in his first 18 contests this spring. In fact he had a 13-game point streak from Game 1 of their first round matchup against the Los Angeles Kings all the way to Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Stars.
The Stanley Cup Finals have been a much different story and up until Game 4, the Oilers top players were stymied by the brilliance of Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. Draisaitl was held without a point in the first 3 games and only mustered up 9 shots on goal before finally breaking through with 2 assists in Game 4's 8-1 drubbing.
It's been an uncharacteristic run for the German forward who has just 1 goal and 5 points in his last 9 games and hasn't score a goal since Game 4 of the Conference Finals - a span of 6 games. Not scoring or producing in the playoffs is something Draisaitl is not used to as he has 41 goals and 107 points in 71 career contests, including 80 points in his last 50 games.
Draisaitl is too good of a player to be kept quiet for this long. However, he'll be the first one to tell you that his game has not been up to par and that he needs to be better. Based on the 3-1 series lead for the Panthers, it has to come a lot sooner rather than later:
"I haven't played my best this series here. Trying to find it. Tomorrow is a great chance for me to step up and be good." �Leon Draisaitl (0 goals, 2 assists in Stanley Cup Final)
Game 5 is set to take place tomorrow night at 8:00 PM ET where the Oilers are hoping to keep their season alive with another victory. In their last 4 periods, they've broken through the impenetrable Panthers' goaltending with 10 goals on 41 shots and Bobrovsky has been on the hook for 7 of those goals on just 22 shots.
Source for Leon Draisaitl's stats:Leon Draisaitl
| POLL | ||
17 JUIN | 256 ANSWERS Leon Draisaitl comments on his lacklustre play in Stanley Cup Finals Will the Edmonton Oilers force a Game 6? | ||
| Yes, they have all the momentum | 155 | 60.5 % |
| No, the Panthers will end it on home ice | 101 | 39.5 % |
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