Honestly, where would the Edmonton Oilers be without Leon Draisaitl?

In golf, they don’t ask how, just how many.

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It’s kind of the same for slumping teams that finally end a losing streak.

They don’t ask, ‘Who did you beat?’

So, it matters not that the Edmonton Oilers edged an opponent that had just four wins in its previous 11 games.

Not when the Oilers only had three.

Or that they needed overtime to beat the 13th-place team in the East. Not when the troubled Oilers had fallen to seventh in the West.

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What matters for the Oilers is that they found a way to win.

And the way, once again, was Leon Draisaitl.

He’s been carrying this team for weeks, if not all season, and did so again in Friday night’s 2-1 white-knuckle ride against the New York Islanders.

His 48th goal of the season gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead and extended his career-high consecutive-game points streak to 17 games. Then his 49th of the season (and 100th point) won it for them in overtime.

He’s a machine out there.

“I’ve seen Leon just take control of his game,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch, when asked to explain how the German superstar has managed to elevate what was already one of the best games in the world.

“He’s always been a good player, he’s always been dominant. One of the best forwards every single night. That’s a star player. For me, I saw him step it up even more, which is surprising because when you’re that good it’s tough to take any more steps.”

What happened Friday night is more the norm than the exception. The Oilers have six goals through three games of this road trip and Draisaitl has three of them and assisted on two others.

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He hit 100 points for the sixth time in his career and he’s 13 ahead of second place William Nylander in the Rocket Richard trophy race. He’s a team-high plus 29 when the next closest guy on the Oilers is plus 15.

That he’s been able to do all of this while playing with third- and fourth-line wingers makes it even more remarkable.

“You look at who other star players are playing with,” said Knoblauch. “He’s not playing with guys who are making Olympic teams or All-Stars. It’s a credit to him.”

The Hart Trophy will be up to the voters — Nathan MacKinnon is also having a spectacular season — but Draisaitl’s value to the Oilers cannot be overstated. Without him, they’re a non-playoff team counting on the draft lottery to bring them back to life.

“Why wouldn’t he be (in the Hart conversation),” said Knoblauch. “Not only Hart Trophy, but the Selke, the defensive plays he makes every night … he’s been making those plays all season.”

For Draisaitl, however, the two points gained against the Islanders are far more important than his 100. And he’s not just being falsely modest for the cameras.

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The Oilers had been slipping so badly over the last few weeks that they were closer to a wild-card spot Friday morning than they were to first place in the division.

They needed desperately to stop the bleeding and gain some measure of forward momentum. This helps.

“It’s a nice individual milestone but the two points are much bigger than personal records,” he said. “We’ve been struggling. We’ve been struggling to score, we’ve been struggling to defend hard and put points in the bank. I thought for the most part tonight we were really good.

“We created a lot more. Right now it’s not falling, it’s not going in, but sometimes you need a game like that, grind one out and get going.”

You can give an assist on this win, literally, to Oilers goaltender Calvin Picard, who stopped 24 of 25 shots and sent the pass that ultimately set up Draisaitl for the game winner in OT

“That’s elite hockey sense right there,” said Draisaitl. “He was amazing all night.”

It’s a big comeback win for Pickard, who’s been strong all season but got the hook in his last outing, but the story is Draisaitl.

Pressed on the 100 points and the runaway lead in the goal-scoring race, Draisaitl shrugged and said the pucks are just going in.

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“I felt good all year. Some years it works better than others, that’s just the way it is sometimes. This year it’s gone my way so far. I’m looking to continue that, continue to work at it and just keep getting better.”

Better than this?

If you’re lining up against him, that’s a scary thought. And if you’re the team he just signed an eight-year, $112-million extension with, you’ve got to be pretty happy that the new deal hasn’t even kicked in yet and it already looks like a value contract.

“I love being an Oiler, it means the world to me,” he said. “Having teammates that understand the way I am and understand me as a person … sometimes it’s not easy but I love these guys and without them none of this as possible.”

E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com

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