Ex-Oilers forward Connor Brown leveraged Leon Draisaitl's teachings against former club to score breakaway goal

Connor Brown departed from the Edmonton Oilers, this past offseason, after spending two seasons with Edmonton, during which the team made back-to-back Stanley Cup Final runs. He signed a four-year, $12 million contract extension with the New Jersey Devils, and during faced his former club for the first time on Saturday afternoon when his Devils took on the Oilers.

With a 2-1 lead at the 9-minute mark in the third period, Devils were shorthanded when Connor Brown found a breakaway opportunity, out sprinted Oilers D-man Evan Bouchard and scored against goalie Calvin Pickard. In the post-game interview, Brown revealed he was trying not to laugh after scoring against Pickard, with whom he shared a pretty good bond.

The 31-year-old winger also disclosed that he leveraged ex-Oilers teammate Leon Draisaitl's teachings on breakaway scoring opportunities against his former club.

“I was telling the guys, (Leon) Draisaitl used to always tell me to go backhand-forehand on breakaways, so I thought I'd try it there and it worked,” said Brown.

Brown took his goal scoring tally to three with the shorthanded breakaway goal against the Oilers. He enjoyed scoring against his former team, as his Devils teammate in Brett Pesce dislcosed that the $12 million forward "lit up like a Christmas tree."

“You've been through so much with that team over there. Obviously, it's just one of 82, but it kind of felt a little bigger for me, playing the old club," Brown added.

Also read: 3 least impressive Edmonton Oilers players from 5-3 loss to New Jersey Devils ft. Evan Bouchard

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"He puts his work first": Connor Brown lauds Devils star Jack Hughes, over ex-Oilers teammate Connor McDavid

Connor Brown has had the opportunity to share the ice with Connor McDavid, when he was with the Oilers the last two seasons, and now with Jack Hughes, as part of the New Jersey Devils. When he was asked to compare the two stars, Brown said,

"They're different in their personality, but their approach is very similar, Jack has been a pro since he was 10 years old. The way he works, the way he works in the summer, the way he works here, in the gym, he puts his work first,"

Connor Brown and Connor McDavid were teammates for two seasons in between 2012-14, while playing for the Erie Otters in the OHL. In their two regular seasons together in Edmonton, the Connors played together for 217:19 minutes and shared 9 goals as a line (stats via naturalstattrick). In contrast, Brown has played just 6:52 regular season minutes with Jack Hughes, and the two have not combined to score a goal so far.

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Edited by Srihari Anand