National player Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers have secured their next nail-biting victory in the NHL. The Canadians won against the New York Islanders in Edmonton without the Germans Dennis Seidenberg and Thomas Greiss 2-1 after a penalty shootout. It was the Oilers’ second consecutive victory, and on Monday they defeated the Arizona Coyotes 4-3 after extra time.
Capt. Connor McDavid turned the decisive penalty into a win, having previously been in the 59th minute. In the third minute Thomas Hickey (42nd) equalized the lead of the guests. Meanwhile, Draisaitl was the second marksman of his team to miss his shot in the penalty shootout.
The Oilers now have 62 points, but are 17 points behind a wild card rank for the play-offs. 15 games remain to be played in the main round.
The play-off chances of the Washington Capitals with national goalkeeper Philipp Grubauer are better. Although the capital cities lost 3-1 to Los Angeles Kings, they are still in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with good prospects in the race for the championship round. Grubauer stood on the ice against the Kings for the entire season and held 24 of 26 shots on his goal. National striker Tobias Rieder did not play for LA.