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1 hour ago
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The Edmonton Oilers looked like their usual dominant selves during the first period against the Minnesota Wild. Kris Klobauch was able to make the proper rotations and adjustments to get Leon Draisaitl a record last achieved by Mark Messier. However, the inability to score from the 19:24 mark of the first period up to 12:43 of the third period led to a bittersweet ending.
Draisaitl gets stunning record but at a cost
Draisaitl was hot to start off the game. The Oilers star managed to find the back of the net all by himself which led to an insane feat. He ended up notching his 1,034th career point. This now ties him with Messier for the fourth-most career points in Oilers history, per NHL records. The German will only need nine more points to usurp Jari Kurri and claim the third spot for himself.
After that? Well, he'll be chasing generational scorers next. Wayne Gretzky owns the Oilers all-time franchise scoring record with 1,669 career points. Connor McDavid comes in second alongside his 1,177 career points and counting.
Despite tying Messier, Draisaitl could not do much against the Wild defense. This led to them allowing seven goals without much of a response. Even when Draisaitl, McDavid, and even Evan Bouchard tried their hardest, Jesper Wallstedt was a brick wall standing in their way with his 39 saves and an unbelievable 92.9% save percentage.
By the end of the game, Draisaitl could not find the groove that he got early in the first period. The goal at the 3:16 mark would be his only point against the Wild despite having five total shots on goal in the game. Despite having a franchise history-setting night, the Klobauch-led Oilers faltered to a massive 7-3 loss to the Wild.
This now sets their record to 28-20-8 with games against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames before the Olympic break. Will the Oilers get these two wins so that they can dethrone the Pacific Division top-seeded Vegas Golden Knights?
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