Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl scored four goals and added an assist in Monday’s 8-3 victory over the Nashville Predators to extend his NHL-leading point total to 107.
While 107 is a new career-high for Draisaitl, the German centre also topped the 100-point mark last season, with 105, but has largely been overshadowed by teammate Connor McDavid during his time in Edmonton.
“I’ve been saying it for five years now, [Draisaitl] is an amazing player, and it’s nice that he’s finally getting some credit,” McDavid said after Monday’s win.
With one month left in the regular season, Draisaitl sits fourth in the league in goals with 43, four back of Boston Bruins sniper David Pastrnak after his outbreak on Monday.
“I don’t need to beat around the bush. When you score four goals, you feel good,” Draisaitl said Monday night. “You feel good. You feel good about yourself. You feel good about your linemates, and obviously they made some great plays to me tonight, made it pretty easy for me.”
Drafted third overall in the 2014 NHL Draft, Draisaitl finished one goal back of Alex Ovechkin for the Rocket Richard Trophy last season, but appears to be closing on the first award of his career with a 13-point lead over McDavid in the Art Ross Race. He’s now on pace for 133 points this season, which would be the most by any player since 1995-96, when Mario Lemieux led the league with 161.
The 24-year-old is signed through the 2024-25 season at a cap hit of $8.5 million, tied with Steven Stamkos and Henrik Lundqvist for the 24th-highest salary in the league.
Following Monday’s victory, the Oilers now sit two points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for first in the Pacific Division with a game in hand. Edmonton will visit the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.
