And there it was again, this monster that Dave Tippett lets on the ice at selected moments. The trainer of the Edmonton Oilers then often acts like the scientist Victor Frankenstein, who puts together a creature from the parts of different bodies and brings it to life. The perfect moment for this in ice hockey is the majority game, and on Wednesday against the Philadelphia Flyers it was once again to be seen how dangerous the Oilers are: After a pass from Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, Tyson Barrie and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins combined on the left wing . McDavid’s pass into the middle, ricochet, goal.
It was 2: 2 in a game that Edmonton lost 3: 5 in the end – the first defeat of the young season in the North American Ice Hockey League (NHL), admittedly after five wins at the beginning. And one of the reasons for this quick start is the power play. Almost every second excess of Oilers leads to a goal (42.9 percent), an extraordinary figure, the league-wide average is just under half. Sure, the season has only just begun and there are statistical outliers, but you can already see which strategy Tippett is choosing to give Edmonton its first title in 21 years: He only sends his best attackers onto the ice together at selected moments .
There is one more statistic, the order of which should not change much until the end of the season: McDavid leads the scorer list (goals plus assists) with 15 points, Draisaitl is third with twelve points; in between, Alexander Ovetschkin of Washington Capitals at the age of 13. The debates at the Oilers in recent seasons often revolved around the question of whether the two exceptional talents should come together and create a monster – or whether they would be better off in different series of storms to create two mini monsters.
“It doesn’t matter,” said Draisaitl recently during a question and answer session about the SZ. Only: If someone says that he doesn’t care at all and if he smiles as mischievously as Draisaitl does, then that means first of all that he thinks both variants are okay. And Tippett, the trainer, apparently rates it similarly. In normal situations – this debate seems to have ended once and for all – McDavid (in the front row with Jesse Puljujärvi and Zach Hyman) and Draisaitl (with Kailer Yamamoto and Nugent-Hopkins in row two) are separated. Only in special moments such as in power play, if they are outnumbered or if they are behind at the end of a game, they are released together on the opponent.
Oilers manager Ken Holland made sure that this debate came to an end with his renovations during the summer break. He joined the Oilers in 2019, after 22 years and four Stanley Cup wins at the Detroit Red Wings, and he asked, How can that be changed – having two of the NHL’s best attackers on the squad but in the playoffs in failing in the first round (2020, 2021) or second (2017) – or not even reaching the final round, as in 2018 and 2019? The early exit in the preseason was particularly painful, with four losses in a row to the Winnipeg Jets.
“I think we have the deepest squad since I’ve been here,” says Draisaitl
“To be honest: I think we were the better team in all four games,” says Draisaitl today. At that time they were ahead in all statistical categories, except the one that ultimately decides on wins: “We didn’t score when we needed one – whether it was 3-1 or in overtime.” Three games were decided in extra time, all three were won by the Jets. Draisaitl says: “As much as it hurt: We learned from it. I believe that we now have the deepest squad since I’ve been here. We are now more difficult to calculate.”
Zack Hyman (joined the Toronto Maple Leafs) is now taking over from Nugent-Hopkins; the just 23-year-old Puljujärvi from Draisaitl in the front row, who created the 3: 3 against Philadelphia on Wednesday. Nugent-Hopkins and Draisaitl move to Yamamoto in the second row, who made the connection to 1: 2. The face-off strength of Derek Ryan (came from the Calgary Flames) in row three allows Draisaitl, not an outstanding defender, to take a breather when opening players in his own third of the game – another debate of the past seasons: Yes, you want McDavid and Draisaitl be on the ice as often as possible; but you want to see her there at the right time and with full strength.
“I followed the changes very carefully during the summer break,” says Draisaitl, who has played for the Oilers since he began his professional career seven years ago; at that time he was elected third in the draft, earlier than any other German player before. He is now one of the best ice hockey players in the world, in 2020 he collected the most points and was rewarded with the Art Ross Trophy, which is bequeathed to the hardest-working scorer; on top of that there was the ennoblement of the most valuable player of the season. But: What use are individual trophies that Draisaitl doesn’t attach great importance to, if you just want to win the Stanley Cup?
“We got players who make us better as a team – we have to find each other now,” said Draisaitl. So far, this has worked out quite well. And when things get tight, trainer Dave Tippett can still assemble this monster and send it on the ice.