Adin Hill had a bad day at the office. As the Edmonton Oilers came back from a two-goal deficit to take Game 1 in Las Vegas, 4-2, every goal let in by the Golden Knights netminder seemed to leave him in a slapstick position. The first Edmonton tally had Hill spinning like a turtle on his backside. The go-ahead game-winner late in the third period saw him uselessly holding up his glove like he was waving hello to an enemy who'd already sped by him at 160 kph. And the insurance tally, soon after, completely isolated Hill when the Other Connor—Brown—conjured a counterattack breakaway and enjoyed plenty of time to pick his spot.
But that's only three out of four! The best Oiler goal, to me, came from their most productive player all year. That's right: Leon Draisaitl. Expecting someone different?
McDavid did factor significantly into this play, speeding into the zone in that way that makes fans a few beers deep start yelling "McJesus!" He set up a patented Evan Bouchard slapper, which bounced unpredictably into the air off a Golden Knight. Hill reached high and just tried to tap the puck into the corner with his glove. But little did he know that Draisaitl, almost like he could see the future, was zooming behind the net and into perfect position to intercept. Leon didn't go for goal; he saw a better angle. The league's leading scorer (by seven goals!) saw Hill's exposed pad in the crease and, almost like he was playing mini golf, banked it in to knot the game at two.
Since the mediocre Calvin Pickard took over for the abominable Stuart Skinner in goal, the Oil Boys are riding a five-game playoff win streak, and the reasons are manifold. The bit players—with particular love for the fourth line of Viktor Arvidsson, Mattias Janmark, and Vasily Podkolzin—are holding their own, putting up a positive chance differential and a plus-four on goals when McDavid and Draisaitl are both getting breathers at 5-on-5. McDavid himself, though he's not scoring at the staggering rates he's capable of, is still a major creative presence, able to make a fan hold her breath like nobody else when he zooms through the blue line. And then it's the power of Draisaitl—who also earned two third-period primary assists and the OT winner in the Oilers' momentum-shifting Game 4 triumph last series—that gives the team an extra kick that turns them into legit Cup contenders. His vision, his skills as a shooter, and the magnetic pull he exerts on the defense when he's perched about 15 feet from the goalie's shoulder all work like a multiplier on the stress of playing against Edmonton. If his Oilers are an engine, then Draisaitl is like the ... um ... you know, that thing that like protects it, keeps it clean, reduces friction? That thing.
