Leon Draisaitl is one of the best playoff performers in NHL history

[Silky Johnson]

LA is the most common playoff opponent. Who got the Kopitar match up? From what I saw it was McD but I only watch intermittently.

 

[syz]

LA is the most common playoff opponent. Who got the Kopitar match up? From what I saw it was McD but I only watch intermittently.

As far as I remember Draisaitl played a lot against Kopitar and McDavid saw a lot of Danault.

 

[Sanderson]

Clearly, but it's a pretty f***ing good base to work off of.

In fact only four of the top 20 NHL PTS/G leaders don't have a cup. Thats Gilbert Perreault and Pavel Bure other than McDrai - and they didn't play together.

Having two of the best playoff performers of all time is an advantage that the Oilers should be able to leverage...

Also, I can't find the ERA adjusted stats but I would guess they would be be the 1/2 all time in PTS/G if that were applied.

It's more than four actually. Stastny didn't win a Cup, Federko didn't win a Cup, and Barry Pederson was only a depth player on that Cup-winning Pittsburgh team who didn't even play in the playoffs, so it's not like he had much impact that year either.

It's also getting harder and harder to win a Cup the bigger the league gets. The more players in the league, the lower the percentage of players who actually get to win a Cup. Add the Salary Cap, and it is not quite as easy to assemble great teams like the 80s Oilers, early 90s Penguins, or 90s / 00s Avalanche.

Pittsburgh is actually a good example of how hard it was to win even then. Jagr won two Cups as a young player, then never one the rest of the way, even though he became a much better player, and Lemieux was still around for a few runs as well. Meanwhile, Sakic and Forsberg got surrounded by a much better roster on a much richer team, and managed to win two Cups. You don't just need to assemble a great team, you also need to be in peak shape at just the right time, and have to hope that one of the other great teams around isn't in even better form than you are. See Colorado, Detroit and Dallas in the late 90s / early 00s. Or, alternatively, that a team who is a bad fit for you gets beaten by a team who is a better fit for you.

Ovechkin finally won a Cup at age 32, when some people thought he would never get one, and that's not because Washington wasn't good before or didn't perform well in other playoff runs. Take 2008/09, Pittsburgh won a seven game series against the Capitals in round 2, a series which featured three overtime games. Change the outcome just a tiny bit, and maybe it's Washington that wins that year, and people wonder whether Crosby and Malkin will ever win that Cup they so deserve. Sometimes the two best teams in the conference already meet in round 2, leaving the winner with a rather easy conference finale. Did the losing team have a bad run, just because they barely got beaten by the eventual champion? No. But people will still harp on about how they didn't make it out of the second round, completely removing all context.

Edmonton certainly hasn't managed to deliver a good enough team yet, but even if they did, it still doesn't guarantee anything, because there will always be other great teams around, and sometimes those teams will be better in a playoffs series, even if your stars are doing their job. For all the Cup-wins they got back then, Colorado and Detroit suffered even more losses at the hands of somewhat equally strong teams.

 

[Satire]

Mcdavid actually struggled early on with playoffs like most young players, whereas Draisaitl was putting up big numbers from his first playoff run

Draisatl's style translates very well to playoffs. He's a big body guy that can cycle, win battles, and is one of the best passers in the league. He's also got a pretty nasty shot too so you have to respect him.

McDavid is not the same player and in all honesty is sometimes given the harder assignment between the two of them. They're both exceptional in their own rights.

 

[Buck Naked]

LA is the most common playoff opponent. Who got the Kopitar match up? From what I saw it was McD but I only watch intermittently.

5v5 Draisaitl played 26:03 against Kopitar, McDavid 30:18. Not that much difference.
They both played about the same amount of time against the Danault line (28 minutes for Drai, 30 minutes for McD).

 

[CanadienShark]

Nope his points don't count.

 

[Darcy Tucker]

Insane company. Needs to make the finals tho

 

[Chet Manley]

McDavid will be #4 on this list. Hopefully in the next week.

 

[Buck Naked]

Insane company. Needs to make the finals tho

He doesn't for this. Hit point totals count toward this record no matter if he makes the finals or not.

 

[Silky Johnson]

It's more than four actually. Stastny didn't win a Cup, Federko didn't win a Cup, and Barry Pederson was only a depth player on that Cup-winning Pittsburgh team who didn't even play in the playoffs, so it's not like he had much impact that year either.

It's also getting harder and harder to win a Cup the bigger the league gets. The more players in the league, the lower the percentage of players who actually get to win a Cup. Add the Salary Cap, and it is not quite as easy to assemble great teams like the 80s Oilers, early 90s Penguins, or 90s / 00s Avalanche.

Pittsburgh is actually a good example of how hard it was to win even then. Jagr won two Cups as a young player, then never one the rest of the way, even though he became a much better player, and Lemieux was still around for a few runs as well. Meanwhile, Sakic and Forsberg got surrounded by a much better roster on a much richer team, and managed to win two Cups. You don't just need to assemble a great team, you also need to be in peak shape at just the right time, and have to hope that one of the other great teams around isn't in even better form than you are. See Colorado, Detroit and Dallas in the late 90s / early 00s. Or, alternatively, that a team who is a bad fit for you gets beaten by a team who is a better fit for you.

Ovechkin finally won a Cup at age 32, when some people thought he would never get one, and that's not because Washington wasn't good before or didn't perform well in other playoff runs. Take 2008/09, Pittsburgh won a seven game series against the Capitals in round 2, a series which featured three overtime games. Change the outcome just a tiny bit, and maybe it's Washington that wins that year, and people wonder whether Crosby and Malkin will ever win that Cup they so deserve. Sometimes the two best teams in the conference already meet in round 2, leaving the winner with a rather easy conference finale. Did the losing team have a bad run, just because they barely got beaten by the eventual champion? No. But people will still harp on about how they didn't make it out of the second round, completely removing all context.

Edmonton certainly hasn't managed to deliver a good enough team yet, but even if they did, it still doesn't guarantee anything, because there will always be other great teams around, and sometimes those teams will be better in a playoffs series, even if your stars are doing their job. For all the Cup-wins they got back then, Colorado and Detroit suffered even more losses at the hands of somewhat equally strong teams.

I stand corrected on Statsy & Federko.

None the less 70% have won and the Oilers have 2 of the top 4!

5v5 Draisaitl played 26:03 against Kopitar, McDavid 30:18. Not that much difference.
They both played about the same amount of time against the Danault line (28 minutes for Drai, 30 minutes for McD).

What about the other series? Just curious.

 

[Buck Naked]

What about the other series? Just curious.

2023:
Kopitar - McD: 37:33, Drai: 60:01
Danault - McD: 58:13, Drai: 29:43

2022:
Kopitar - McD: 57:19, Drai: 44:43
Danault - McD: 36:46, Drai: 37:19

 

[bobholly39]

If Oilers make the finals - there's a legitimate chance that the following 3 things could happen:

Gretzky - 47 playoff points in a single playoff run. Both McDavid + Draisaitl could beat it (Drai needs 23 games, McDavid 25 games at current pace to surpass it)

Coffey - 37 points in a single playoff run, record for a defenseman. Bouchard needs 23 games to beat it at current pace

I could also see Draisaitl give the goal record a run, at 19 goals in a single playoff run.

It's incredible the level of production this trio is putting forth, and has for a few playoffs in a row now.

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

Okay name me the other players who have scored 18+ points 3 years in a row then?

To be fair, not everyone gets to play the ole crappy kings every year.

 

[Peltz]

It’s wild to me that so many people try to discredit Drai. I don’t get it. He’s as elite as they come.

 

[syz]

To be fair, not everyone gets to play the ole crappy kings every year.

His points per game is higher against teams that aren't the Kings. He'd have more points if he didn't have to go through their dull 1-3-1 every year.

 

[PaulD]

The only thing opposite of Marner is the fact that Marner plays in the toughest division, whereas Draisaitl plays against the weakest. Both are non existent defensively. Drai proved it again last night, being on the ice for all goals against.

Both players have zero wins beyond the 2nd round, when they have to face teams outside their division.

but both players are not ass up until the second round.
and Mitch "I'm a God" Marner has one win beyond the first round . ONE game his entire career.

 

[Lannes]

The only thing opposite of Marner is the fact that Marner plays in the toughest division, whereas Draisaitl plays against the weakest. Both are non existent defensively. Drai proved it again last night, being on the ice for all goals against.

Both players have zero wins beyond the 2nd round, when they have to face teams outside their division.

LAK Goals Against in 2023-2024: 215
BOS Goals Against in 2023-2024: 224

LAK Goals Against in 2022-2023: 257
VGK Goals Against in 2022-2023: 229
TBL Goals Against in 2022-2023: 254
FLA Goals Against in 2022-2023: 273

LAK Goals Against in 2021-2022: 236
CAL Goals Against in 2021-2022: 208
COL Goals Against in 2021-2022: 234
TBL Goals Against in 2021-2022: 233

It is a myth that Toronto has somehow played harder competition in the playoffs.

 

[Buck Naked]

It's incredible the level of production this trio is putting forth, and has for a few playoffs in a row now.

yEaH, bUt. Something something +/-. Something something defense. Something Matthews.

 

[Buck Naked]

LAK Goals Against in 2023-2024: 215
BOS Goals Against in 2023-2024: 224

LAK Goals Against in 2022-2023: 257
VGK Goals Against in 2022-2023: 229
TBL Goals Against in 2022-2023: 254
FLA Goals Against in 2022-2023: 273

LAK Goals Against in 2021-2022: 236
CAL Goals Against in 2021-2022: 208
COL Goals Against in 2021-2022: 234
TBL Goals Against in 2021-2022: 233

It is a myth that Toronto has somehow played harder competition in the playoffs.

 

[wetcoast]

To be fair, not everyone gets to play the ole crappy kings every year.

It's not like the Kings aren't a good defensive team so........

 

[The Nuge]

To be fair, not everyone gets to play the ole crappy kings every year.

They’ve been a 101 point team over the last 3 years and have 2 of the top shutdown centers in the league…

 

[ChaoticOrange]

It's not like the Kings aren't a good defensive team so........

The Kings, the Canucks, and the 21-22 Flames were all elite defensive teams. Just Leaf copium that other teams stars show up in the playoffs.

 

[Maverick41]

They’ve been a 101 point team over the last 3 years and have 2 of the top shutdown centers in the league…

You guys are just working off the wrong premise. You seem to think how a team performs over the course of a season or in this case 3 seasons determines whether or not they are a good or bad team, or if they are good or bad defensively and so on.

But the correct premise is "Oilers suck". Therefore any team they beat cannot be good at anything and any individual accomplishments by Oilers players mean nothing and deserve an asterisk next to them. Once you understand that, all these comments make much more sense.

 

[LTIR]

Playoffs performer is different than playoffs producer..
Draisaitl is a great producer but to me there is more to a 'performer' than points.

 

[Dieseloil]

Amazing. He and McDavid are money in the playoffs. The separation between the two is minimal if anything. Would be curious who faces the tougher defensive match ups. My guess would be McDavid but I have nothing to qualify that.

Doesn't matter, both are just sick. The real question is - How do the Oiler not have any playoff hardware with two of the greatest playoff performers of all time? What the f*** rest of the Oilers!

Stuart Skinner has entered the chat.