Afotimber “Good penalty killers are the ones who can make plays under pressure. You saw it with Connor late in the game, being able to slow things down rather than just shovelling a puck out. He was able to settle things down and made a heck of a play”
Published Oct 13, 2025
Last updated Oct 13, 2025
5 minute read
Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid skate to the bench during first period preseason NHL action against the Seattle Kraken at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Wednesday Sept. 24, 2025. Photo by David Bloom /PostmediaArticle content
Seeing Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the power play is as normal as the Zamboni cleaning the ice but now killing penalties together?
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That’s like brown shoes with a black tuxedo.
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It’s a jarring sight.
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How so?
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McDavid had less than five minutes of shorthanded time all of last season, 4:37 to be exact. Draisaitl had even less, 3:48.
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Through two games this season?
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Draisaitl 4:46, McDavid 3:25.
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So, Leon has already been on the PK more in the first week of the 2025-26 season than all of last year. And, McDavid is 72 seconds off last season’s total.
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“I think both of us are individuals who want to be out there as much as possible,” said Draisaitl, as the team starts a five-game Eastern road trip.
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“Maybe too much. I’m sure Knobber (coach Kris Knoblauch) would agree with that, at times.
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“But we enjoy that part of the game, too. There are different ways of helping your team win hockey games. If we can help on the penalty kill, we love doing it.”
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Do they need more ice-time? Probably not.
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Should they be throwing themselves in front of shots and taking one off a foot or a hand that might break a bone while killing a penalty? No, they shouldn’t.
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But, having two of the more dangerous forwards in the world backing off an opposing PP, makes sense.
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Plus, they don’t panic when the heat’s turned up. Like in the last minute Saturday against the Canucks, when McDavid spun off some checks and found Darnell Nurse, who got it to Draisaitl for that crazy-good backhand from 80 feet for the empty-netter, 3-1 goal.
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They were out there on a 6-on-4 against, a major sign of trust from Knoblauch.
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“Good penalty killers are the ones who can make plays under pressure. You saw it with Connor late in the game, being able to slow things down rather than just shovelling a puck out. He was able to settle things down and made a heck of a play,” said Knoblauch.
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There’s an array of forwards that Oilers assistant coach Mark Stuart can call on in his duty as PK instructor. He’s still got Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who played the most PK minutes at forward last season (134:52) and Adam Henrique (129:28).
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And Mattias Janmark (128:26) will be back in that portfolio. But, for now, he’s not using Vasily Podkolzin (60 minutes) or Kasperi Kapanen (44:31) in that role.
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Knoblauch is using rookie Matt Savoie and Andrew Mangiapane, instead.
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And, against the Canucks, Draisaitl played 1:50 and McDavid 1:27 short-handed.
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Now, with extra work, McDavid has averaged 25 minutes and Draisaitl over 24 in the first two games. That’s defencemen ice-time, not forwards. Too much.
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But, we’ll see where it goes, balancing heavier special teams with the PK
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DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE
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Darnell Nurse showed his bravery, diving in front of a Quinn Hughes shot in the third period Saturday, taking the blast in the back. “I just heard a scream. He’s going to have a big welt there,” said Oilers goalie Calvin Pickard. “It’s the sacrifice. It’s game 2 of 82. You can kind of dip your toe in the water for some of these veterans but they’re not. They’re out there to defend.”
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SOME MAJOR-LEAGUE WALLOPS
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Oiler defenceman Alec Regula, drilled into the boards in the numbers by Evander Kane Saturday, then steamrolled by Kane again as he skated behind the net.
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But he was at practice Sunday after going into the NHL’s concussion protocol after the second hit. If Jake Walman (IR) is activated after missing the first two games, it’s expected he will reunite with Nurse in the second pair which might mean a scratch for Regula in New York Tuesday. But Knoblauch liked Regula’s play, a lot, in almost 17 minutes against the Canucks.
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“He took some hits but made some really good plays, especially breaking the puck out. We saw that through training camp. The speed is getting higher now, and he’s getting out against better players all the time but he’s handled himself really well,” said Knoblauch.
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This ‘n that
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The NHL Player Safety department fined Tyler Myers $25,000 for what they deemed a slash on McDavid Saturday. Looked more like a spear in the, uh, you know where. Myers earlier was rocked by Draisaitl behind the net.
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With Stuart Skinner getting Game 1 against Calgary and Pickard Game 2 in what Knoblauch says was a pre-planned scenario, does this mean alternating games with the goalies?
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Say Skinner vs the Rangers, then Pickard Thursday on Long Island?
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Then Skinner in New Jersey Saturday afternoon and Pickard in Detroit Sunday? Maybe so…
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David Tomasek had four or five blue-chip scoring chances on the power play against Vancouver but couldn’t get his first NHL goal past Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko. Advice from Knoblauch?
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“Keep trying.” Tomasek played 7:36 on the power play as the net-front presence a position Tomasek has never played before. He was on the half wall on the PP in Sweden.
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The Rangers won’t have second-line centre Vincent Trocheck in the lineup when they play the Oilers. Trocheck, is out week-to-week with a possible shoulder injury. Mika Zibanejad, who started the season on right wing with captain J.T. Miller, has taken Trocheck’s place with Alexis Lafreniere and Artemi Panarin.
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Rangers defenceman Carson Soucy, who hails from Irma, Alta, was hurt against the Pittsburgh Penguins when he crashed into the board. Former Edmonton Oil Kings defenceman Matthew Robertson could draw into the lineup for New York on Tuesday against the Oilers in his place.
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The Oilers will see the 2025 first overall pick, defenceman Matthew Schaefer on Long Island the second game of their road trip. Islanders head coach Patrick Roy played the 18-year-old a staggering 26 minutes against Washington last Saturday in their home opener, three minutes more than anybody else. He scored his first NHL goal.
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Connor Ingram, who hasn’t played a game since last February and missed all of camp, is still a few weeks from playing on the farm in Bakersfield. That’s why the Condors kept Nathaniel Day as a third goalie to start the season. Day, 20, who was very good in two pre-season games for Bakersfield, will eventually find his way to the ECHL to share goaltending duties with Samuel Jonsson.
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