Healthy Leon Draisaitl a clear and present danger for Florida Panthers

It was dead-even. A coin toss. Anyone’s game.

On a night when the margins were too thin to even measure, Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final was decided by one of Edmonton’s unfair advantages.

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Leon Draisaitl.

As an opponent, you can do everything right. You can play the Oilers hard, you can put them on the ropes, you can drag them into overtime and be one shot away from stealing away the home ice advantage they believe is such an important factor in this series.

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Then Draisaitl or Connor McDavid gets you and that’s it. One of the guys you don’t have an answer for ends your night.

Wednesday against the Florida Panthers it was Draisaitl, scoring first to set the tone 66 seconds into Game 1 and scoring last to win it with 31 seconds left in overtime.

That makes it nine goals and 18 assists in 17 games and an NHL record-tying three overtime winners in these playoffs, which is pretty good considering Edmonton has only played four OT games.

The best power forward in hockey, and on some nights the best player in the world, was once again a magical blend of brute force, diamond-cutter precision and assassin’s nerves in taking down a seasoned Panthers team that played well enough to win.

“You can’t put a number on it,” said McDavid, when asked to quantify Draisaitl’s value to Edmonton’s Stanley Cup quest. “He’s invaluable. He does so many good things. He’s clutch. Faceoffs. You name it, he does it. And he doesn’t get enough respect or credit for his defensive abilities.

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“When he’s dug in, there’s not many better. Maybe nobody better.”

There weren’t any on Wednesday, that’s for certain.

It’s been said and written about Draisaitl and McDavid so many times it must make the fans in Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver nauseous — when your best players find another gear in the playoffs, and then find another gear after that when the playoffs pressure is greatest, it’s a special thing to watch.

Draisaitl was that guy on the pivotal Game 1 stage.

“The way he’s playing right now and the season he’s had, that’s as good as I’ve seen,” said Oilers defenceman Brett Kulak, who’s glad he doesn’t have to figure out a way to keep a bull like Draisaitl at bay.

“I don’t think we win that game without him,” added defenceman Mattias Ekholm. “He’s a game-breaker for us, he’s a game-changer for us.”

He’s a six-foot-two, 209-pound, four-time 50-goal scorer with 135 points in 91 playoff games who’s starting to get Selke votes as top defensive forward in the league.

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In other words, not an easy guy to play against. If you’re the Panthers, he’s a clear and present danger.

“He scores the goals and the winners, and whatever, but he also does so many little things on the defensive side of the puck which, for me as a defensive defenceman, I really enjoy,” said Ekholm. “I enjoy being out there with him because I know he’s got my back.”

Last year, Draisaitl was one of several Oilers who limped into the final and couldn’t unleash his best. Hand and rib injuries had him fighting through the pain, producing just three assists in seven games.

He didn’t score a goal, didn’t deliver a moment like the one he did Wednesday night.

This time, he was full Draisaitl. And he was dug in.

“It feels good,” he said. “And I think that goes for a lot of our guys. Some of our guys got pretty banged up early last year in the playoffs and, you know, the fatigue seemed to come a bit quicker.

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“So it’s nice to feel good and healthy, and hopefully it stays that way.”

The overtime winner might be the biggest goal of his career to date — it gives Edmonton its first lead in a Stanley Cup Final series since 1990 — and it was a beauty. Evan Bouchard to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to Corey Perry to McDavid to Draisaitl for the one-timer past Sergei Bobrovsky.

“I’m standing there watching this whole thing unfold,” said Draisaitl. “I’m the beneficiary but the work is done way before that — four really good plays in a row. “

What made it even more perfect is that his parents were in the building, seated not far from the Panthers net, and shared in the game-winning experience.

“It’s everything,” Draisaitl said. “Like any hockey parent they’ve sacrificed time, money,. It’s special to have them here, special for them to be a part of this. It obviously worked out well that they got a front row seat.”

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E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com

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