Coach full of praise for Oilers’ top duo

Draisaitl, McDavid at another level against Kings

Kris Knoblauch is five months into watching Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl go to work.

The Oilers rookie head coach witnessed the dynamic duo drag Edmonton back from a disastrous start to the regular season, and they’ve elevated their game even further this spring.

McDavid leads the playoffs with nine points, joining Wayne Gretzky as the only players in NHL history with eight assists through the first three games of a post-season.

Draisaitl, meanwhile, has three goals and four assists to sit tied with teammate Zach Hyman for second in playoff points. The Oilers, who lead their firstround series with the Los Angeles Kings 2-1, look ahead to Sunday’s Game 4.

“For them to show up and play as well as they have in the playoffs, it’s quite significant,” Knoblauch said Saturday of McDavid and Draisaitl. “It’s not an overstatement to say that is remarkable.”

Knoblauch replaced Jay Woodcroft behind Edmonton’s bench Nov. 12 when the Oilers ranked second-last in the NHL. The team turned its season around with 97 points in its next 69 games under Knoblauch, with McDavid and Draisaitl driving that comeback.

Playoff production is hardly new for Edmonton’s pillars.

With 82 points each in 52 career post-season contests, McDavid and Draisaitl rank second and third alltime in points per game. Their 1.62 average is a touch ahead of Mario Lemieux and trails only the Great One — two players who stacked jaw-dropping numbers in the highflying 1980s.

“It’s remarkable to be mentioned with those two players,” Knoblauch said.

Canucks at Predators 5 p.m., Sportsnet

Killing penalties hasn’t always been a strength for the Vancouver Canucks.

The team’s penalty kill struggled through much of 2022-23 and threatened to be the worst in NHL history. After rebounding slightly late in the regular season, Vancouver still finished with a leagueworst 71.6 per cent success rate.

Now the unit has become a strength for the Canucks, who lead the Predators 2-1 heading into Sunday’s Game 4. Vancouver’s penalty kill has operated at 92.3 per cent against Nashville.

“It’s just such a big part of the playoffs,” said Canucks defenceman Carson Soucy. “It just brings a whole lot of confidence to the group, whether it’s a blocked shot that gets the bench up ... a big save or even just a couple good clears.”

Jets at Avalanche 2:30 p.m., Sportsnet

A handful of Colorado Avalanche players participated in an optional skate Saturday after an emphatic win over Winnipeg a day earlier. The Jets went the opposite way, holding a full-team practice as they look to rebound from a Game 3 loss they’d rather forget.

Colorado scored five times in the third period — including three goals over a six-minute stretch — for a 6-2 win and 2-1 series lead. The teams face off again Sunday afternoon at Ball Arena.

“We have these five-, six-, sevenminute lapses that are really slipping away from us,” said Jets defenceman Neal Pionk. “I think in a couple of games we’ve given up two, three goals in a five-minute span. So we’ve got to stick with it and the leaders have got to lead.”