Leon Draisaitl Dominates Wild In Oilers' Blowout Win

If this week is a test, the Oilers are acing it.

Two days after shutting down Tampa Bay's top-five offence in a hard-fought 2-1 win, the Oilers went out and blitzed a top-five Minnesota Wild defence to the tune of a 7-1 win as they continue their run through the league's best teams.

It was all systems go right from puck drop for the Oilers on Thursday night, running all over the first-place Wild in all facets of the game. As has often been the case this season, Leon Draisaitl was at the centre of everything for Edmonton.

The Oilers' charmed night started on the powerplay, where they've finally rounded into form after a lacklustre start. It took them just five seconds to strike on their first man advantage of the night, with the tried and true McDavid-to-Draisaitl connection getting a little help from a Zach Hyman deflection to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead.

After Draisaitl parlayed an incredible solo effort into a Kasperi Kapanen goal later in the period, the Wild found some life on a late powerplay, when Freddy Gaudreau deflected a Brock Faber point shot past Oiler goalie Calvin Pickard. That was all the Wild could muster, however, as the Oilers came alive in the middle frame.

The Oilers absolutely bowled over the Wild in the second period, scoring three goals while outshooting Minnesota 13-6. It was a versatile period for Edmonton: a shorthanded goal courtesy of Connor Brown, a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins powerplay marker, and yet another bizarre goal against the Wild for Leon Draisaitl.

The Oilers went on cruise control from there, notching two more with some rare goals from Troy Stecher (second of the year) and Derek Ryan (first since February) to close out their best game of the season. Final score: 7-1 Oilers, their first win in Minnesota since February 7th, 2019.

Player of the Game: Leon Draisaitl

Folks, it might be time to start the Leon Draisaitl-for-Hart train. His four-point game extends his multi-point streak to four games and gives him 42 points on the year, tied with Mikko Rantanen for fourth league-wide.

Considering he also leads the league in goals with 21, has levelled up his defence, and is surging just as the Oilers embark on a scorching hot streak, all of a sudden Draisaitl has vaulted himself into the MVP conversation. It certainly doesn't hurt that his Oilers just obliterated current Hart frontrunner Kirill Kaprizov and the Wild.

Play of the Game

It had to be Draisaitl. Nobody else in the league could make this play: the strength to hold off one checker for that long, the speed to literally skate circles around the opposition, and the brain and hands to find Kapanen all alone in front just as a Wild defender left his post to challenge Draisaitl.

The Edmonton Oilers are officially scorching hot. Already heating up for the past few weeks, they entered a stretch where they'd face Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Vegas, and Florida in quick succession, hoping to remove all doubt that they're still a force to be reckoned with.

Now, with vastly different back-to-back wins over Tampa and Minnesota, the Oilers have won 8 of their last 10. Their offence, defence, goaltending, and special teams are all firing on cylinders, and with the Los Angeles Kings' loss on Thursday they now sit second in the Pacific Division. The Oilers are back.

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