Forward Leon Draisaitl records two goals & two assists as Edmonton's top line combines for nine points on Sunday night in a 4-3 pre-season victory over the Canucks at Rogers Place
EDMONTON, AB – Next time we’re on home ice, points will be up for grabs.
For now, it’s another solid showing in the preseason from the Blue & Orange.
Forward Leon Draisaitl recorded two goals and two assists for the Edmonton Oilers, while their top line of Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and Trent Frederic combined for nine points on Sunday night to guide their side to a 4-3 pre-season victory over the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place.
“Connor and Leon were their usual selves tonight,” Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. “They were much better tonight, so that line was clicking a lot more.”
The Oilers’ top forward trio filled the scoresheet on both of Edmonton’s first-period tallies, building a two-goal lead off markers from McDavid and Frederic before the German blasted home his first goal of the game off a quick set play with the man advantage during the middle stanza for a 3-0 advantage.
The Canucks scored twice in 43 seconds in the final frame, receiving quick goals from Aatu Raty and Braeden Cootes, before Draisaitl was able to convert his second off a terrific pass from McDavid on a two-on-one later in the period, providing the Oilers with the insurance they needed after Jonathan Lekkerimäki made it 4-3 in the final four minutes left in regulation with Vancouver’s net empty.
McDavid posted a goal and two assists, Frederic contributed a goal and a helper, and Stuart Skinner stopped 25 of 28 shots in the victory, which was Edmonton’s fourth of the preseason to move their exhibition record to 4-1-1 with two more exhibition games still to play.
Draisaitl, McDavid & Frederic combine for nine points in a 4-3 victory
This trio has a lot of potential to start the regular season for Edmonton on the top line, and they showcased it with a dominant performance in the first period of Sunday’s pre-season victory over Vancouver.
The Oilers’ top line of Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and Trent Frederic couldn’t get much going earlier in the week in a 4-1 exhibition defeat to Seattle, but they looked like they were passing it around for fun during an impressive first period on Sunday against the Canucks, where the trio picked up all three points on each of Edmonton’s opening two goals to take a 2-0 lead heading into the intermission.
“We haven’t played that much, so it’s nice to get a second game in and start feeling a little bit better,” Draisaitl said. “There aren’t many left now, so that was a good one for the most part. At the end, a little bit of scramble mode, but that happens early in the year.”
McDavid converts off a broken play for his first goal of the preseason
McDavid opened the scoring only 1:28 into the first period, scoring his first of the preseason by tucking home a wrap-around inside the post from below the goal line after Draisaitl took the captain’s original pass and had his shot blocked by Frederic, leading to the German dragging goalie Thatcher Demko out of position in front to create chaos more around the Canucks’ crease.
Instead of trying the bank shot, McDavid quickly came out from behind Vancouver’s net and slid the puck under the skates of defenceman Filip Hronek for the early Oilers’ advantage and his first tally in two pre-season appearances, having been held off the scoresheet earlier in the week.
Frederic was parked in front on McDavid’s opening tally, earning the secondary assist, and there’s undoubtedly a directive from Head Coach Kris Knoblauch and his coaching staff to the 6-foot-3, 220-pound winger to be a workhorse physically who can go to the dirty areas and win pucks for 29 and 97.
Draisaitl is confident he’s got the skills and repertoire to thrive alongside himself and McDavid.
“I think he’s got a lot of skill,” Draisaitl said of Frederic. “Obviously, he’s a big body. He goes to the net. I think most importantly, he’s willing to adjust to be successful on our line. He’s willing to do whatever it takes, and I think tonight we had a lot of good shifts and a lot of good looks. He obviously got rewarded for a couple, so he’s been really good.”
Trent talks following his two-point performance on Sunday night
Almost 10 minutes after the Oilers opened the scoring, Frederic showed his direct approach towards goal when he doubled his team’s lead by going right to the blue paint off a quick neutral zone regroup and pushing home McDavid’s wrist shot through Demko’s five-hole at 11:37 of the period.
Playing in his second straight pre-season game alongside McDavid and Draisaitl, Frederic said he did a lot less thinking tonight after getting a taste of what the speed is like next to them in their last appearance on Wednesday, which translated to better results tonight.
“Two best players in the world,” Frederic said. “They play fast, they’re smart, so a little less thinking for me today. I was probably overthinking the first game with them, but they’re tremendous talent. It’s fun to play with them.”
The Oilers were leading 2-0 after the opening 20 minutes thanks to their top line’s exploits, combining for all six points on the scoresheet, as they looked to keep building on their chemistry in the second and third periods and translate that success to their regular-season opener on Oct. 8 against the Flames.
“I can see how maybe sometimes you can feel like you’re out of the game a bit just by the way Connor and I play,” Draisaitl said. “But I think the guys that play with us, they know they’re just as valuable as him and me together. We need them to create space to go to the net and be a part of it. Otherwise, it’s no good. So he’s done a great job with that.”
Frederic pushes the puck through to make it 2-0 in the first period
Defenceman Atro Leppanën had another noticeable pre-season appearance for the Oilers on Sunday over 18:09 of total ice time, as the Finnish blueliner continues to stack good games on top of one another in a bid to crack the NHL in his first professional season in North America.
The 26-year-old said post-game earlier this week that he hasn’t found the transition to the smaller ice surface that difficult, having set the Liiga record for points from a defenceman in the 2024-25 season (12 goals & 51 assists in 60 games), and we’ll have to take him at his word based on his strong showing at Training Camp that continued against the Canucks.
During the opening period, Leppanën made a terrific toe-drag move off the rush to force a dangerous scoring chance from the slot that Demko did well to kick aside with the left pad, and he was strong defensively once again over the full 60 minutes despite going minus-one on the night with three shots taken.
Kris talks following Sunday’s 4-3 pre-season win over the Canucks
“We knew he was a very gifted player with the puck, making a lot of plays,” Knoblauch said. “He led the [Finnish] league in scoring as a defenceman. I don’t know if it’s ever been done, so coming here, you don’t know if the transition is going to be able to happen…. but he’s feeling more comfortable. Obviously, he has to get adjusted to the ice surface, but he’s picked up quite well. Tonight I think was his strongest game, and he’s had a lot of strong games, so we’re very happy with the way he’s played.”
Knoblauch said Leppanën’s performance at Camp is making for some hard decisions on the back end, and he’s going to get at least one more chance to show his readiness for an NHL role in one of Edmonton’s last two pre-season games against the Kraken and Canucks this week.
“He’s going to play at least one more exhibition game,” Knoblauch said. “We’re very happy with our defence and we feel we’ve got a lot of good defencemen, and that’s the guys that were here last year and the ones who are pushing to get into our lineup now. Dineen had a good game. Regula’s had a great camp. Atro has been playing really well, so we’ve got a lot of options. But we don’t want to make a decision right now, saying this is going to be our next seven or eight on day one because we still have some time to make those decisions.”
Draisaitl’s heavy shot makes quick work of the power play
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It took Draisaitl just three seconds to finish off McDavid’s offensive-zone faceoff win from the top of the right circle, uncorking an unstoppable effort from a bit further back than he’s comfortable with to increase the Oilers’ lead to 3-0 with 3:03 left in the second period.
The German superstar lined up on the blueline for the draw on a set face-off play from the Oilers, where McDavid won the draw to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the left to start a quick passing play through Evan Bouchard at the point and over to Draisaitl for a fast one-timer that he tucked under the crossbar.
“If you have that much time, then it’s not the hardest thing in the world,” Draisaitl said. “There were a lot of great little plays by the other four guys that gave me the time that I needed, but a little bit of an unusual spot for sure.”
Draisaitl finishes McDavid’s pass on the odd-man rush for insurance
Double Drai, and at the perfect time.
After the Canucks made a game out of it in the third period with two quick goals, Draisaitl connected on a two-on-one with McDavid to halt their comeback hopes with his second goal of the game with just over half of the final period still to play in Sunday’s pre-season contest.
Vancouver scored twice in 43 seconds early in the final frame when Aatu Räty converted unassisted with a snipe over Stuart Skinner’s left shoulder from inside the right circle, making it 2-1 before a crazy bounce off the skate of Braeden Cootes not even a minute later turned this game into a one-goal contest.
There was still time for the Canucks to tie things up, but Draisaitl was ultimately able to put those hopes to bed by getting loose on an odd-man rush with McDavid near the period’s midway mark. The captain toe-dragged the puck to his backhand and threw it across the crease around defenceman Filip Hronek to set up a one-timer for Draisaitl that he buried confidently past the outstretched Demko.
The tally would prove to be an important one, ultimately standing up as the game-winning goal after the Canucks pulled their goalie for the extra attacker and making it 4-3 on a blast from Jonathan Lekkerimäki with over three minutes left in regulation.
Leon speaks after recording four points in Sunday’s victory
The Oilers have a couple of days of practice next week before finishing off the preseason with road matches against the Kraken (Wednesday) and Canucks (Friday).
Edmonton will host Calgary at Rogers Place on Oct. 8 to begin the regular season.
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