Leon Draisaitl celebrates 29th birthday in style as Oilers forward leads team to 3-2 OT victory over Red Wings

On his 29th birthday, Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl stole the show as he recorded all three points in his team 3-2 OT win over Red Wings.

Leon Draisaitl celebrates 29th birthday in style as Oilers forward leads team to 3-2 OT victory over Red Wings

Leon Draisaitl (Image via Imago)

Birthdays do not get much better than this. On the night Leon Draisaitl celebrated his 29th birthday, the Edmonton Oilers star played a massive part in the game against the Detroit Red Wings and led his team to a 3-2 overtime victory.

After thrashing the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0 on Friday night, the Oilers came into this game looking for a second successive win. Having gone 1-0 down in the first period, Draisaitl pulled the game back on level terms in the second period.

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The Oilers though once again found themselves trailing as Andrew Copp put the Red Wings in front in the second period itself. Having scored the first goal, Draisaitl set up Evan Bouchard for the second leveler for the Oilers in the third period.

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The birthday boy found himself in the scoresheet once again as just after 18 seconds into overtime, he put the puck in the net to make it 3-2 and give the Oilers a second straight win. This saw him celebrate his birthday with three points on the night.

When asked about his performance in the game, the German international claimed it was a “great night” for them and stated it was “nice” to come back and win the game.

All around, a great night and a great win for us. Always nice to come back in a game like that and find your game and start the road trip off right.

Leon Draisaitl said as per NHL.com
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Following this away victory, the Oilers’ next three road games see them face off against the Colombus Blue Jackets, Nashville Predators, and the Calgary Flames. After that, they will return home to take on the New Jersey Devils.

Oilers’ coach Kris Knoblauch praises Leon Draisaitl following the forward’s performance against Red Wings

After Leon Draisaitl‘s heroic performance against the Red Wings, head coach Kris Knoblauch was full of praises for him. The 46-year-old seemed pleased with his effort and also hailed him as a “great player“.

Kris Knoblauch and Leon Draisaitl
Kris Knoblauch (L) and Leon Draisaitl (R) [Image via Sportsnet/Forbes]

At the press conference later, Knoblauch admired his skills in the build-up of all three goals.

Yeah, he played really well… The first goal, a fortunate bounce, but he was controlling the puck to create that goal. And then the game-tying goal, not much time left in the third period, and he sets that up, controlling the puck, hitting Bouchard, coming in late, and then obviously the big goal at the end for the overtime. You often win when your best players are your best players, and our guys stepped up and made some key plays tonight.

Kris Knoblauch said regarding Leon Draisaitl in the post match conference.

Before this game, Draisaitl had seven points (four goals and three assists) in eight games. He has now reached double digits in the points tally for the season.

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This win improved the Oilers record to 4-4-1 for the season. As for the Red Wings, they now also have a 4-4-1 record. Both teams are currently fifth in their respective division standings as a result of this match.