After the change of coach, the Edmonton Oilers around ice hockey star Leon Draisaitl have taken another step out of the crisis. In the first game under new head coach Kris Knoblauch, the Canadians won 4-1 against the New York Islanders in the NHL professional league. Draisaitl scored his sixth goal of the season and was involved in all three other goals. The striker recorded his assists numbers 11 to 13.
The Canadian franchise reacted to the weak start to the season on Sunday and replaced Jay Woodcroft with Knoblauch. The day before, the Oilers had won 4-1 at the Seattle Kraken, but their first win after four defeats came too late for the head coach. Woodcroft took over the post in February 2022.
In the premiere under Knoblauch (45), head coach for the first time in the NHL, Draisaitl scored to make it 1-1 (15th). Cologne provided the assist for the Oilers’ remaining goals from Zach Hyman (48th), Connor McDavid (50th) and Evander Kane (58th).
After only their fourth win from 14 games, Edmonton is second to last in the Pacific Division with nine points.