Leon Draisaitl’s start to the season has been loud enough that even with Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard drawing plenty of attention, the Oilers forward is still finding ways to stand out.
The NHL named Draisaitl its first star of the week on Monday after he piled up six goals and nine points over Edmonton’s past three games.
He opened the stretch with a two-goal outing in the Oilers’ 4-3 overtime win against the Minnesota Wild, finishing that night minus-2. Two days later, he delivered his biggest performance of the week against the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes, scoring twice and adding three assists. Then in Saturday’s 7-2 loss, he scored both Edmonton goals and was minus-2 again.
That run gives Draisaitl a three-game multi-goal streak.
Through 11 games, he’s already up to 12 goals, which trails only Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov, who has 13. Draisaitl also has 11 assists for 23 points, second in the league in scoring.
He has found the net in nine of Edmonton’s 11 games and has scored at least once in each of his last six. Still, that’s not his personal best. He has scored in consecutive games twice before, in December 2023 and January 2025.
The three straight multi-goal performances are noteworthy too, but not new territory for him. During the 2020-21 season, Draisaitl scored two goals in three straight games from May 4 through May 8, all against the Canucks.
The week’s other two stars also came from Canadian teams. Calgary Flames goaltender Devin Cooley posted a .971 save percentage while Calgary went 2-0, and Montréal Canadiens goalie Jacob Fowler won both of his starts while putting up a .964 save percentage.
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Oilers Suddenly Face A Goaltending Question They Cant Ignore
The Oilers are having to manage the kind of goaltending shuffle that can quietly change a stretch of the schedule. Devon Levi has gone on injured reserve, forcing Edmonton to bring back Matt Tomkins on emergency depth as it tries to keep the crease stable while other clubs around the league work through their own injury issues, from Taylor Halls expected return in Carolina to Rasmus Ristolainens absence in Philadelphia.
What makes the move more awkward is that Levis injury has not been disclosed, and the short-term outlook only adds to the uncertainty. Edmonton now has to navigate at least the next week without a clear timeline for one of its goalies, a reminder that depth charts can get tested fast in the NHL, especially when the margins between a normal week and a problem are so thin. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Hot Start Is Hiding A Lineup Concern Fans Know Too Well
The Oilers have found enough early success to cushion a familiar kind of roster debate, but the start has also revived a question Edmonton keeps circling back to: whether the club is leaning too heavily on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together. On the surface, the opening has been encouraging, and theres no reason for panic this early, yet the bigger picture still points to how much the lineup depends on those two driving the offense when theyre on the ice.
Splitting them would be a way to spread the wealth and make the group deeper from top to bottom, which is exactly the kind of adjustment that tends to matter when the schedule tightens and opponents start keying on one pairing. The concern in Edmonton is less about the stars themselves than what happens when theyre not setting the tone, and that is where the conversation around the rest of the forward group gets a lot less comfortable. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Just Sent Trent Frederic A Message He Cant Ignore
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Babcock also acknowledged Frederics willingness to mix it up, but said the physical side alone is not enough to secure a regular spot. Frederic appeared to take the decision in stride, saying he understood the move and was focused on improving his game and earning his way back into the lineup. [Read more 🡒]