Oilers amazed by Draisaitl: 'He's been the horse for us'

The Edmonton Oilers had nothing but praise for Leon Draisaitl after the superstar's two-goal performance secured an important overtime win over the New York Islanders on Friday.

"He's been the horse for us. He's been the catalyst most nights," defenseman Darnell Nurse told The Athletic's Daniel Nugent-Bowman. "He's one of the best players in the world and he’s showing it night in and night out."

Draisaitl padded his cushion in the "Rocket" Richard race with his 48th and 49th goals of the season and is now 13 tallies clear of second place. He also hit the 100-point mark for the sixth time in seven seasons. The year he fell short of the feat was the pandemic-shortened, 56-game campaign in 2020-21.

"I've seen Leon take control of his game," head coach Kris Knoblauch said. "He's always been a good player. He's always been dominant - one of the best forwards every single night. That's a star player."

Knoblauch lauded Draisaitl's ability to play alongside any level of talent.

"You look at other star players and who they get to play with ... and he's not playing with guys who are making Olympic teams or are All-Stars," Knoblauch said.

Draisaitl is two points behind Nathan MacKinnon in the Art Ross race with one fewer game played. The Oilers star leads the league in even-strength points (70) and goals (34) and is also at the forefront of the Hart Trophy conversation with a month left in the season. He won the award in 2019-20 and hasn't been a finalist since.

The Oilers are in second place in the Pacific Division, but the Los Angeles Kings are only one point behind with two games in hand.