NHL: Edmonton Oilers at Vegas Golden Knights - Source: Imagn — Leon Draisaitl talked about penalty kill after Oilers' 6-3 loss to Stars in Game 1 (Source: Imagn)

Leon Draisaitl seemingly takes a shot at Oilers PK unit after abysmal showing against Stars

Modified May 22, 2025 04:43 GMT

Leon Draisaitl spoke about penalty kill after the Edmonton Oilers lost 6-3 to the Dallas Stars in Game 1. With this loss, the Oilers are down 1-0 in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals series.

During the postgame chat with the media, Draisaitl was asked if the problem was taking too many penalties, and he agreed.

"Yeah. We got to stay out of the box," he said. But you know, there's going to be penalties. We got to come up with a kill."

"I'm not on it, so who am I to say anything, but that's just common sense. That's a fact. And then once you have a chance to tie the game up on the power play, then it's our turn to be much better than that."

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The Oilers have struggled on the penalty kill this postseason. Their success rate is only 62.2%. They have killed 23 penalties but allowed three power-play goals in the third period of Game 1. The Oilers had a 3-1 lead going into the third period, but lost it.

Dallas scored five straight goals in the third, including three on the power play. Miro Heiskanen, Mikael Granlund, and Matt Duchene scored power-play goals that helped Dallas take the lead. Tyler Seguin added a goal at even strength. Esa Lindell scored into an empty net for the final 6-3 score.

Edmonton’s save percentage is low this postseason at .878, which has also hurt the penalty kill. So, now the Oilers will look to improve in Game 2 on Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

Leon Draisaitl's performance in Game 1 loss

Leon Draisaitl had three points in Game 1 against Dallas. He scored the opening goal at 10:19 in the first period and made two assists. Despite the loss, he showed strong play again. He now has 19 points in 12 playoff games, the same as Dallas' Mikko Rantanen.

Draisaitl remains one of Edmonton’s best scorers and is tied with captain Connor McDavid in playoff points this season.

During the 2024-25 regular season, Leon Draisaitl led the NHL with 52 goals. He also had 54 assists, and he scored a total of 106 points. The Oilers will depend on him to help win the series and recover after the Game 1 loss.

About the author

Abhilasha is an NHL writer at Sportskeeda. Holding a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, her interest in writing hockey was piqued after watching an NHL skills video on YouTube. The 2023 Stanley Cup Finale series between the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers was among the most iconic games she has seen and it left an impact on her.

Her reporting strengths include covering news stories and following stars like McDavid, Matthews and Alex Ovechkin, among others.

Abhilasha is a huge fan of the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche because of their skilled forwards, while her favorite players include Wayne Gretzky, Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Connor Bedard. For her, John Tortorella is the greatest coach ever.

Abhilasha has over 3 years of experience writing content for different products and websites, along with handling social media content for various brands. She values using credible sources when writing and likes to identify fake and false narratives.

Abhilasha’s hobbies include spiritual reading, staying updated on the latest makeup trends, fitness and exploring new destinations through travel.

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