Leon Draisaitl authored a hat trick, landing him in the 50-goal club this season, and the Edmonton Oilers shut out the Anaheim Ducks 6-0 on Saturday night to clinch their fourth straight playoff berth.
The All-Star forward now has points in each of his past 12 games and joins Edmonton teammate and captain Connor McDavid in reaching 50 tallies during this high-flying season for the Oilers.
Edmonton is the first team since the 1995-96 Pittsburgh Penguins to have two 50-goal scorers in the same season, and with the win, the Oilers remained one point behind the Los Angeles Kings for the No. 2 playoff position in the Pacific Division.
“It was a good night,” Draisaitl said. “Lots of good plays by the guys around me, looking for me. I’m proud and very fortunate enough to have done it.”
Draisaitl finished with nine shots on the night, as the Oilers kept up the pressure on a team playing out the string. His effort also made for a memorable Saturday, marking the first time since March 18, 1989, that five hat tricks were scored on the same day across the NHL.
McDavid had a goal and an assist for Edmonton, as did Zach Hyman. Jack Campbell stopped all 36 shots en route to the victory. Edmonton now has four straight wins and has earned at least a point in 10 straight games (9-0-1).
“He was amazing tonight,” Draisaitl said of Campbell. “I thought in the first period, he kept us in the game. We weren’t sharp in the first.”
McDavid notched his league-leading 62nd goal to make it 5-0 at 4 minutes, 25 seconds of the third, and Draisaitl completed his second hat trick of the season and seventh of his career with about five minutes remaining.
“You don’t see it every day that someone gets to 50 and gets 100 points pretty much every year they’ve been in the league,” McDavid said of his teammate. “Really, really impressive. Can’t say enough good things about him. He’s been on a real tear.”
While McDavid certainly gets more attention across the NHL, his running mate never ceases to produce. In fact, no player has more goals than Draisaitl (229) across the past five seasons. Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews is next at 222. McDavid is at 214.
Ducks goaltender John Gibson was pulled in the third period after giving up five goals on 36 shots. The Ducks have lost eight straight and 10 of 11 (1-9-1). Lukas Dostal came on and finished with eight saves.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
