ice Hockey
NHL: Draisaitl with magic goal in Oilers victory
Oilers star Leon Draisaitl (r) scored against the Ducks. photo
© Jae C. Hong/AP/dpa
The Oilers score important points in the battle for the playoffs. The German star player Leon Draisaitl is involved with a goal worth seeing.
National ice hockey player Leon Draisaitl scored a particularly nice goal in the Edmonton Oilers’ 6-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks in the North American NHL league.
The man from Cologne scored in the penultimate minute of the second period to make it 6:1 by directing the puck into the box with the stick between his own legs and behind his body. “That instinctively read the situation, very nice pass and luckily it worked out,” said the 27-year-old of the German Press Agency.
The 23rd goal of the season did not have a major impact on the game, the Oilers had already dominated the weak Ducks almost effortlessly. “There were a few shaky situations at the back, but otherwise we won it confidently and deservedly won,” said Draisaitl. After the first third it was 4:1 for the Canadians, who had only won one of the five games before and urgently needed the points in the fight for the playoff places in the NHL.
Halfway through the season, Draisaitl was not particularly satisfied and emphasized that the most important thing was to qualify for the playoffs in the first place. “A bit inconsistent, too many inconsistent weeks. It’s very tight in the table, of course, so we have to start now to get a few points and a few wins in a row,” he said. “We don’t have to change much offensively, but defensively I think we have to make sure we get out of our own zone a little faster. If we spend less time there, we give up fewer chances.”