The Edmonton Oilers’ first visit to Mullet Arena is a historic one as Leon Draisaitl recorded his 300th NHL goal
It came unassisted against the Arizona Coyotes Monday in the second period. Earlier in the game, Connor McDavid became the first player since the 1995-1996 season to record 140 points, the last being Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr. Leon and Connor are definitely in the running as the best duo the NHL has seen since the days of Mario and Jaromir.
Leon scored his 200th goal on October 21st, 2021 making it 522 days between the milestones. It’s been a record-setting year for him as he also set a new career in points last Saturday with 112 and now he sits at 113 before the third period against the Coyotes. The goal was vintage Leon on the half-wall one-timing it five-hole on goaltender Karel Vejmelka.
Among active players, he is the fourth player in the NHL to reach 300 goals in the fewest games played at 630. The other three being Sidney Crosby (622) Steven Stamkos (550) and Alex Ovechkin doing it in 473 games. Elite company to join.
Now the question that remains is if he can reach the 50-goal mark this season once again. He’s four shy as of the time of writing. He scored his 50th last season on April 3rd, 2022. At the rate he’s scoring, it should happen. He’s hit that milestone twice in his career, peaking at 55 in the 2021-2022 campaign. Leon will have eight more games to reach 50 and potentially set a new career high in goals.
It’s also important to remember that Draisaitl has the most powerplay goals in the NHL this season with 28. He’s currently in a four-way tie with Michel Goulet, Mike Bossy and Dave Andreychuk for 5th most powerplay goals in a season. The record is 34 set by Tim Kerr of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1985-1986. Another record for this Oilers team to chase down.
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