Leon Draisaitl knows there won’t be anything left of him by Christmas if he keeps playing 27 minutes a night, like he did in the season opener against Vancouver, but he doesn’t mind if they take the whip to him every once in a while.
“Obviously, you notice you’re playing a lot, but you don’t complain about it,” he laughed, adding every player wants to be out there as much as possible.
“It’s a privilege to play a lot in this league. I’ve been fortunate enough that I’ve had coaches who trust me and have played me and my minutes have been going up. I’m happy I get to play as much as I do.”
But, no, 26:46 isn’t going to be a nightly occurrence under Dave Tippett.
“I don’t think I’m going to average 26 minutes. Sometimes it’s just the way the game goes. Some nights all four lines will be going and he doesn’t need to use us as much, it just depends on the situation.”
SO FAR SO GOOD
The Oilers penalty kill is four-for-four, having snuffed out eight minutes of Canucks man advantage in the home opener. That’s good news considering the PK has been one of Edmonton’s weakest links and gave up three goals in the first two games last season.
“I liked our scheme and I liked the mindset of our guys killing penalties,” said Tippett. “We want to be aggressive at the right time, making sure we have numbers in the right places. We put a lot of work into the penalty kill and I thought it was pretty good the other night. We gave up some chances, more from the outside, but not bad. It was a good start.”
LID LIFTER
The Oilers gave up a goal seconds after a penalty had expired, but during that brief moment they were actually two men short. Then penalized player had just stepped on the ice and Connor McDavid was out of the play because his helmet had been knocked off and he had to replace it before chasing the play, according to the new rule.
If a player’s helmet comes off he has a brief window to finish the play he is directly involved with, then he has to leave the ice or put the helmet back or he receives a penalty.
“(The rule) has been in Europe for a while,” said Tippett. “It is what it is. It’s there to further protect the players. You can’t argue with it. Everybody has it the same. Unfortunately it bit us early, and you get frustrated by it, but it’s the rule so you just live with it.”
TODD’S BACK
The Oilers will be reunited with former coach Todd McLellan when the Kings visit Saturday night. When a team’s had 10 coaches in 11 years, it’s only a matter of time before they run into an old one, but this will be their first game against their most recent ex-coach.
“I think Todd did a great job with us here,” said Draisaitl. “I truly loved him as a coach. I thought he was great. It was great working with him, I learned a lot from him, but it’s time to move on. He’s on to LA and we have a new guy here.”
Tippett knows McLellan well and even though the Kings are attempting to re-tool their roster, he expects a stern test out of any McLellan team.
“I worked with Todd at the World Cup, I know him pretty well,” said Tippett. “They will be well prepared. The Kings will be an energized team. Just like any team that has a new coach, there is lots of enthusiasm at the start. That’s what I expect from them.”
Tippett is getting a sense of what McLellan dealt with in Edmonton and even spoke with him in the summer to see if he could offer some insight and advice.
“Yes, we touched base a couple of times.”
Would you be willing to share any of what McLellan had to say?
“No.”
HE SAID IT
“That’s all you need to know about him. A guy who goes out there and plays two periods with a broken ankle because he wants to help the team win. That’s who Lars is.” — Darnell Nurse on Adam Larsson.
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October 05, 2019 at 06:39AM
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