Hymns of praise from Gretzky and Co.

Wo Leon Draisaitl is, Wayne Gretzky is usually not far away. That’s because of the German’s game in the Edmonton Oilers jersey. He is compared to the greats of his sport: with their style of play, their character, their records. And the big ones watch him.

So it was no surprise that Gretzky, who played ice hockey The Great One is called because he holds so many records, appeared in front of the camera in a three-part film in Las Vegas on the night from Saturday to Sunday German time. What he said was surprising because it sounds completely absurd – until you entered the numbers yourself into the calculator: “My goodness,” said Gretzky: “He could score 50 goals if he continued like this.”

Before you do the math, you have to give a few facts about these 50 goals: This means 50 goals in the play-offs. The record so far: 19 goals, set by Reggie Leach in 1976. Gretzky himself had 17 for Edmonton. In the quarterfinals against the Vegas Golden Knights, Draisaitl scored all of the Oilers’ goals in game one in a 4-6 win and scored twice again in the 5-1 series equalizer (1-1) on Sunday night.

He currently has 13 goals in eight games, which makes 1,625 goals per game – and leads to the calculation: With 19 possible play-off games, the next on Tuesday night (2.30 a.m. CET on Sky), Draisaitl could with this cut to around 31 more, i.e. a total of 44 goals. Gretzky sounded like he was joking; to show how good Draisaitl is at the moment – and yet he wasn’t far from reality.

Put away the calculators

Now it is extremely unlikely that Draisaitl can maintain this stint. But Leach’s record, he could break it. Draisaitl doesn’t care. The trophy drives him on. The chances of winning the Stanley Cup are better than ever. The squad is more balanced than in previous years. The top players Draisaitl and Connor McDavid are always in form, the power play and the defensive work in game two worked so well that Gretzky went into raptures: “What impressed me the most was how good they were defensively. That’s the only way you can win the Stanley Cup.”

The Oilers scored three of their five goals on Sunday on the power play. For Gretzky, the majority game is currently “one of the best I’ve ever seen. They work hard for it and are altruistic. That’s the key.” Draisaitl himself emphasizes how important the so-called special teams are. But: “We don’t want to rely on scoring four or five goals every game. We think about defending first.”

McDavid was also asked about Draisaitl’s performance on Sunday. “He plays on a different level,” said the striker, whom Gretzky considers the best NHL player at the moment: “But I don’t know why that should surprise anyone. He’s the best player in the world in many games.”

Draisaitl, sitting next to him on the press podium, had lowered his gaze during the hymn of praise. Only when McDavid said at the end that nobody was here to collect points did Draisaitl nod briefly. A message that could be understood like this: folks, put away your calculators.