EDMONTON -- Leon Draisaitl feels he needs to be better.
The Edmonton Oilers forward is third during the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 30 points (10 games, 20 assists) in 23 games, but has been limited to two assists in the first five games of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers heading into Game 6 at Rogers Place on Friday (8 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN+, ABC).
"I'm obviously not happy with the way I'm playing," Draisaitl said Friday. "I haven't found my game, I haven't found my legs and am not at the standard I hold myself to obviously. But I'm excited to come into the series tonight."
Florida leads the best-of-7 series 3-2 and can win its first Stanley Cup championship with a victory in Game 6. The Oilers are looking to force Game 7 in Florida on Monday with a third consecutive win after falling behind 3-0 in the series.
Draisaitl had two assists in an 8-1 win in Game 4 in Edmonton on Saturday but has been kept off the scoresheet in the four other games of the series. He had 106 points (41 goals, 65 assists) in 81 games during the regular season.
"I think Leon puts a lot of pressure on himself and the best players always want to be the best and expect a lot out of themselves," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. "I've seen Leon play better than he has, and I think he's contributed a lot. He's harder on himself than he should be. I think yesterday he had a good day of practice. He looked like himself, and I'm expecting him to play a good game tonight."
Draisaitl said playing with various linemates throughout the playoffs or facing Florida's strong defensive forwards are not factors for his lack of offensive production.
"No, it has nothing to do with either of those. It's me," Draisaitl said. "I've always been able to come back from stretches where I maybe haven't been at my best. It's just myself being better. Like I said, I hold myself to extremely high standards and if I don't get to that, obviously I'm not happy with it. But like I said, I'm very happy to come into it tonight."
Draisaitl has gone seven games without a goal, dating to Game 4 of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars. He's had a number of good looks in the Final against Florida and has 13 shots on goal in five games during the series.
Throughout the playoffs, Draisaitl has been centering Edmonton's second line behind the usual top unit of left wing Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, center Connor McDavid and right wing Zach Hyman.
Draisaitl started the Final with Evander Kane on his left wing and Dylan Holloway on his right. Kane has missed the past three games because of a sports hernia, and Knoblauch said he will be a game-time decision for Game 6.
For Game 5, Nugent-Hopkins played left wing with Draisaitl and Holloway, with Warren Foegele moving up to play on McDavid’s line.
If Kane does not play, it's expected Draisaitl again will center Nugent-Hopkins and Holloway.
"That had more to do with matchups, what they [Panthers] want to do and having a little more speed and defensive responsibilities," Knoblauch said. "It was more of a matchup thing."
Draisaitl and McDavid play together as part of the Oilers power play and will play on a line following a penalty kill, which neither of them are on. When that happens, Draisaitl will play left wing with McDavid and Hyman because Nugent-Hopkins and Foegele play on the penalty kill.
"Honestly, I think he's been great," Holloway said of Draisaitl. "He obviously does put a lot of pressure on himself and expects a lot out of himself, and I think that’s what makes him so good. But I think he's got to realize that even if he's not feeling great, he's still better than 99 percent of the guys that are still out there. He's been awesome and I think he's got to keep playing the way he is."
Draisaitl always has risen to the occasion during the playoffs. He has 107 points (41 goals, 66 assists) in 72 playoff games and was the third-fastest player to reach 100 playoff points (60 games), behind Wayne Gretzky (46) and Mario Lemieux (50).
"He's just so good with the puck, he's always making good plays, he's good defensively," Holloway said. "On the power play he gets a ton of touches and he's able to handle bad pucks, make good plays for the other guys, and he does good things all over the ice."
