DRAISAITL OBVIOUSLY PLAYING THROUGH PAIN
Tough Oilers centre took his share of abuse, but still played 18 minutes in Game 6
Nobody knows what ailing body parts Leon Draisaitl is dragging around the ice.
It looked like he turned his right ankle when snarly Los Angeles Kings defenceman Mikey Anderson put a wrestling move on the Edmonton Oilers centre and pulled him to the ice during in a scrum in Game 6. Draisaitl also looked like he was flexing his knee during the game. Perhaps there's some loose ligaments there.
All we know is Draisaitl will likely be dressed for Game 7 on Saturday, because it would take a compound fracture of his leg to keep this tough guy out. After leaving the bench twice in the first period Thursday, he gutted it out, playing 18 minutes, and set up Tyson Barrie for the winner with a perfect saucer pass late in the third.
Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft, before leaving Los Angeles on Friday morning, said Draisaitl “is doing good.” Unless he was seen on crutches or in a walking boot, we'll get a better picture at Saturday morning's skate. If it's an ankle, once he got his foot out of his skate, it might have swollen.
“During the game you've got the adrenalin pumping and the next day, you see the implications of the injury. I hope it's nothing too bad,” said former Oiler Fernando Pisani. “Sprains (ankle) are the worst. Every time you stop and start, it affects your whole body. We'll never know (what's exactly wrong) until after the playoffs.”
Woodcroft did not like the Anderson takedown, but wasn't about to rail on the referees, who didn't call a penalty on the play. Anderson has had a fine series and is their most aggressive blueliner.
“You guys (media) watched the game ... but a really good coaching mentor of mine once told me that's only a few jobs in hockey. One's a player, one's a manager, one's a coach and one's a ref. Coaching is my job,” said Woodcroft.
“I know what I saw and we're moving on.”
GREAT AT BOTH ENDS
Connor Mcdavid, who survived a hellacious open-ice hit from Arthur Kaliyev in the second period, was all over the scoresheet in Game 6 to get to 12 points in six games, but his hard backcheck in the last minute to steal the puck off Andreas Athanasiou and send Evander Kane off on his emptynetter clearly showed how he's evolved as a strong two-way player. There's lots of Sidney Crosby in Mcdavid.
“What he doesn't get enough credit for is how good a defensive player he is. The amount of hard minutes he plays, the fouls he takes and the price he's made to pay to have that type of success,” said Woodcroft. “Speaks to his will, speaks to his preparation, and for somebody to be playing at this level is inspirational for our group.”
“Everybody knows what he does in the regular season but he wants to take his game to the next level and that's the playoffs. When we're down in games, you can tell he wants to be a difference-maker. That separates the really good players from the amazing players,” said Oilers goalie Mike Smith.
HOME ICE, BUT ...
Every team wants a Game 7 in its building, so the Oilers have that, but the Kings have won four straight Game 7s and are 7-4 lifetime. The last time the Oilers had a Game 7 at home was April 16, 1990, against the Winnipeg Jets, when Mark Lamb got the winner (Glenn Anderson scored in the first period, and Esa Tikkanen and Jari Kurri in the third) to culminate a rally from 3-1 down in the series. Kings goalie coach Bill Ranford was the Oilers goalie that night.
NOT WORTH THE RISK
Evander Kane had a third goal in Game 6 wiped by incidental contact goalie interference on Zach Hyman that Woodcroft chose not to challenge to overturn it. The Oilers led 2-0 and Woodcroft opted not to challenge in case he lost and the Kings would get a power play.
“Experience and listening to what our video coach Jeremy Coupal said. He's been unbelievable throughout his NHL tenure (calling for challenges and usually being right). We trust him,” said Woodcroft, who didn't get a green light from Coupal. “We knew we were going to find a way to win without that call going our way.”
THIS 'N' THAT
Darnell Nurse will be back after his one-game suspension for head-butting Phillip Danault, but with the strong defence pairing of Brett Kulak and Cody Ceci in Game 6, perhaps Nurse goes back with his old partner Barrie for Game 7 ... D-man Philip Broberg, who played three minutes in his first playoff game Thursday when they dressed seven blueliners, was sent back to AHL Bakersfield. With Draisaitl's medical situation, hard to know whether they'll get Warren Foegele back after he was a healthy scratch in Game 6 to give them 12 forwards or go 11 and seven because veteran Kris Russell was so good in L.A. He blocked four shots, his best a ripper from Anze Kopitar.