Oilers Duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl Best Ever

The Edmonton Oilers are heading to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2006 after defeating the Calgary Flames by a final score of 5-4 in overtime in Game 5 to win the series 4-1. Edmonton continues its dominance over Calgary in the playoffs, now having won five of the last six series. A big reason for the Oilers victory in 2022 is because the Oilers have the best duo in the league right in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Dare we say best ever?

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl Propel Oilers To Victory

Entering the series, most pundits predicted Calgary to win the series in six or seven games. The Flames had a deeper team and the better goalie in Jacob Markstrom. So we thought. But the caveat entering the series was McDavid and Draisaitl. Those two players could be the x-factors in this series and a reason why the Oilers could defeat the Flames. And these two players did not disappoint.

McDavid and Draisaitl are shattering the record books when it came to Stanley Cup Playoffs statistics. The Oilers dynamic duo have combined for 52 points in 12 playoff games. Both players lead the Stanley Cup Playoffs in points with 26 with the same exact stat line of seven goals and 19 assists. Draisaitl had another four-assist game against the Flames in Game 5, giving him 17 points passing Wayne Gretzky (14) for the most in a Battle of Alberta playoff series. In addition, Draisaitl has five consecutive games of three or more points one shy of the record of six.

Then there is Connor McDavid who is on another level right now. He has the Michael Jordan mindset and he is not going to be stopped. McDavid has recorded at least two or more points in 10 of 12 playoff games including at one point having seven straight multi-point games. Prior to Game 5 against the Flames, he was 2.5 goals per game. The addition of Evander Kane has given so much and has allowed the duo of McDavid and Draisaitl to shine even brighter.

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The Best Player Won The Series

McDavid and Draisaitl were driving the offence. Especially, Draisaitl in Game 5. Prior to that, it was McDavid, who propelled his team to victory against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round and now against the Flames in the second round he scored the game-winner in the overtime to win the series.

As Flames coach head Darryl Sutter said after the game when asked if the better team won, “the best player won them the series.”

And Sutter is not wrong.

Earlier in the year, Sutter had this to say about McDavid:

“Bottom line, he’s head and shoulders the best player in the League,” Sutter said. “I don’t think there’s one player who stops Connor McDavid. He’s a tough guy to stop. You just try to slow him down within the rules, limit his chances.”

Though as McDavid said post-game he was not at his best, Leon Draisaitl picked up the slack. Even with an injury, Draisaitl was the second-best player in the series.

Can McDavid and Draisaitl Propel Oilers To Stanley Cup Championship?

Normally in the NHL, we don’t see two individuals win hockey games for their respective teams. Especially in the playoffs. In the regular season that can happen and it has over time. But in the playoffs, it is so hard for two guys to propel their team to the Stanley Cup because it is such a team game. This year, we are seeing McDavid and Draisaitl do just that.

Now the Oilers are still only halfway to victory, but the fact of the matter, these guys account for 50 percent of the Oilers offence is insane. This is similar to what we see in the NBA with the likes of the Golden State Warriors, where Steph Curry and Clay Thompson just take over games. With both players having the same stat line, they have accounted for 27 percent of Edmonton’s scoring production in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Thanks to my colleague Daniel Friedman for these stats.

The fact of the matter is with Jay Woodcroft putting these guys out every other shift, he is going to ride his horses until somebody stops them. Whether on the road or at home, if Woodcroft gets these guys out on the ice, the Oilers always have a chance to score.

Now the Oilers are getting production from other players like Kane, Zach Hyman, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, but the majority of the offence is coming from Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Both of those players were able to get passed two very good defensive teams. They will have to do it again if the Oilers want to win the Stanley Cup.

Lasting Legacy

The duo of McDavid and Draisaitl will go down as one of the best. They are doing things similar to what Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr were doing. Look how these guys are rewriting the Oilers history books in the playoffs. They are putting up numbers that are similar and even better than what Gretzky and Jari Kurri did.

If these two players will their team to a Stanley Cup Championship, which they absolutely can, they will go down as the best duo ever in the history of the game.