Leon Draisaitl shares his thoughts on the MVP race against Nathan MacKinnon
Photo credit: Edmonton Journal
The Edmonton Oilers are gearing up for a heavyweight bout against the Colorado Avalanche tonight, With Leon Draisaitl and Nathan MacKinnon both eager to make their case for MVP honours.
According to the NHL, The two superstars have gone shot for shot all season with MacKinnon re-taking the League's scoring lead from Draisaitl on Thursday night with three assists in a win for the Avalanche over the Calgary Flames to reach 83 points - just a day after the "Deutsch Dangler's" goal and assist in Chicago lifted him into first place on 81, including his league-leading 38 goals.
Leon Draisaitl opens up about the scoring race
After morning practice, Leon Draisaitl made himself available for his usual interviews, highlighting his feeling about the tight scoring race.
«I'd be lying if I said I wasn't aware of where I'm at [in the race], but there's so many great players up there. It's so tight,» Draisaitl said. «This is a one-to-two game swing that can go in any direction, and I'm aware of that. This is not the time right now to throw every egg in the basket and try and be the leader. Whoever it ends up winning is deserving of it, and there's lots of guys in the race.»
-Leon Draisaitl
-Leon Draisaitl
Draisaitl attributed part of his success this season to a greater attention to detail on the defensive side of the puck, echoing the cliché that «good defence leads to offence.»
«I've been obviously valuing that a lot this season and I think it has helped me,» he said. «At the same time, when you're defending hard and coming back, you give up some offense as well and that's part of it, too. So I think it goes both ways a little bit.»
Kris Knoblauch rooting for Draisaitl
If it's one man who understands Draisaitl's value to the team, it's Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch.
As much as Kris Knoblauch wants the Oilers to achieve collective success, he acknowledges the significance of Draisaitl's personal endeavour.
"I obviously want him to succeed, and having that goal or that accomplishment at the end of the year by winning some hardware at the end, the guys want them to do that. Leon, of course, has got other things on his mind, but every player wants to have succeed or succeed and accomplish those kind of things."
-Kris Knoblauch
-Kris Knoblauch
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