The title candidate is getting up to speed: The Edmonton Oilers celebrated their sixth win in a row in the NHL. Leon Draisaitl impressed with two goals in the 5:2 (1:1, 2:2, 2:0) against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night (January 3, 2024). With 19 wins after 35 games, the Oilers have the playoff ranks back in their sights after their false start.
Draisaitl scored his 18th goal of the season to make it 4-2 (42nd) and assisted Zach Hyman (29th) to make it 2-0 for the 24th time this season. Teammate Connor McDavid did even better, scoring once and contributing four assists. The 26-year-old Canadian surpassed the 900-point mark (317 goals and 586 assists) in his 602nd league game. Only ice hockey icon Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Mike Bossy and Peter Stastny needed fewer games to reach 900 points.
Stützle and Reichel lose, Seider succeeds
Tim Stützle and the Ottawa Senators lost 3:6 (0:5, 1:0, 2:1) to the Vancouver Canucks after a weak first third. Stützle prepared both goals by Wladimir Tarasenko (41st/58th) with his assists numbers 27 and 28 this season.
Defender Moritz Seider and the Detroit Red Wings can dream of participating in the playoffs for the first time since 2016 after beating the San Jose Sharks 5:3 (1:1, 1:1, 3:1). David Perron turned the game around for the eleven-time NHL champions with two goals (51st/59th) in the final third. The Sharks are still missing Nico Sturm due to an upper body injury. The 28-year-old last played for the NHL team with the lowest points in mid-December.
For Lukas Reichel and the Chicago Blackhawks, the playoff spots are far away. The team from the US state of Illinois lost 0:3 to the Nashville Predators (0:1, 0:0, 0:2) and has the second-worst record in the West after San Jose.