For the second consecutive night in the playoffs, one player scored four goals in one game. And for the second consecutive night in the playoffs, their team failed to win. According to Sportsnet stats, this was the first time a pair had scored four goals on consecutive nights in the postseason since John Tucker (Sabres) and Tony Hrcak (Blues) on April 9-10, 1988. Only three other times in NHL history have not come One team one player after putting in such a dominant performance: Ray Ferraro, (NYI) – April 26, 1993 @ WSH, Denis Savard, (Chicago) – April 10, 1986 vs. TOR Lanny McDonald (Toronto) – April 17, 1977 vs. PHI.
On the first night, it was Joe Pavelski who had a miracle game after returning from an injury he sustained in the Dallas Stars’ first-round series with the Minnesota Wild. Pavelski has been scoring beauty tip after beauty tip, proving why he’s one of the best guys in the game to do just that. The Stars lost in overtime of Game 1 vs. the Seattle Kraken.
On the second night, it was Leon Draistel who scored four goals for the Edmonton Oilers, two of them beautiful one-offs and a cheeky little floater from behind the goal line and off the back of goalkeeper Laurent Prosuyt. The Oilers lost 6-4.
At one point in the match, neither player was very happy with their team. There was a point in the Superstars vs. Kraken match where Pavelski was seen visibly frustrated with his coach. It’s not clear if it was due to the delay in getting back on the ice after that hat-trick goal or just the fact that the coach wasn’t putting on the hot hand, but Pavelski was aggravated. Draistel also criticized his team before scoring the goal from behind the net. Looks like he was trying to rally the forces. He did his part, but his teammates failed to respond.
While these two superstars will continue to do what they can to will their teams to a series tie in Game 2, they’ll need to see others step up and contribute. It’s not enough in the NHL playoffs for one player to do it all. It’s not enough even if two men – McDavid and Robertson – push them. This is not the NBA. The Oilers and Stars need a full team effort to get past the Golden Knights and Kraken respectively. In fact, Dricetel and Pavelsky likely expected it to.
Not only are these players great, but their teams are good too. There’s a reason they’re both still in the playoffs this season and there’s a reason they’re both considered contenders to face each other in the Western Conference Final.
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