Draisaitl and McDavid have been expanding their reach this season with more time on the penalty kill, and both superstars were able to come up with the stop their team needed before combining with Nurse to put the game away.
“I think both of us are individuals who want to be out there as much as possible. Sometimes, maybe too much,” Draisaitl said. “Knobber would agree with that at times, but we just enjoy being out there, and we enjoy that part of the game too. There are different ways to win hockey games and help a team succeed, and if we can help out on the penalty kill, we love doing it.”
It took some time for the Oilers to make the most of their shot advantage, plus some steady defending throughout the game to lock out the Canucks, but the group stuck to their game plan, and that served as a point of pride in their locker room post-game on Saturday night after earning a hard-fought victory.
“It was a full 60,” Calvin Pickard said. “Pucks weren’t going in for us. Demko was great, made a lot of big saves, and we didn’t stray away from the game plan. We didn’t cheat for offence, and we earned that win. We play that game over and over again and we’re going to win pretty much every time, so it was a good effort all around.
“We’re a good defensive team, and we showed it tonight. Big blocks, good kills, great sticks everywhere and good breakouts. We were sharp in all three zones, so something to build off of for sure.”