POST-GAME: Draisaitl, McDavid continue to terrorize Predators

EDMONTON, AB -When the Edmonton Oilers and Nashville Predators face off, it's safe to say that Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid are in on the hunt.
Draisaitl, in particular, is on a prolific tear against the Predators over the last nine games -- stuffing the stat sheet with numbers that would normally end with someone putting the PlayStation or Xbox controller down. The German has accumulated an otherworldly 18 goals and 25 points in those last nine contests, including his five-point effort on Tuesday night.
Although the stat sheet seems to indicate the league's second-leading scorer has the Predators' number, Draisaitl didn't have an explanation for his continued success against the Central Division foe.
"No, I don't think it works like that. Some nights it just seems to happen a little easier, a little more flow than others maybe, and I seem to get lucky against these guys quite a bit," Draisaitl said. "So obviously, take it and run with it."

Humility aside, there is no team that Draisaitl has lit the lamp against more than over the course of his career, with 7.8 per cent of his total tallies coming against the Predators. His consistent dominance over a single team left his head coach with the same loss for words as the German himself.
"I don't have an answer for you, or at least a good answer for you," Jay Woodcroft said. "Sometimes certain players feel a certain way against certain teams I guess, but to Leon's credit, he's found a way to put some numbers up against this team, and most importantly, he helps the team win. I wish I had a better answer for you, but I can't explain that."
His league-leading teammate has been doing his best to keep pace when it comes to taming the Predators. McDavid has a tidy 19 points (4G, 15A) in his last eight games against Nashville when including tonight's contest.
It's not only the fact that the Dynamic Duo continues to put up prolific numbers in every outing against the Tennessee club, they also are the straw that stirs the drink for the rest of the Oilers lineup. On Tuesday night, it was Kane who was the beneficiary, recording his fifth regular-season NHL hat trick and his fifth as a member of the Oilers when including last postseason.

Nashville Head Coach John Hynes discussed the looming threat that McDavid and Draisaitl continue to pose when going up against the Blue & Orange.
"They are two real dynamic players, they make the players around them better, so it's not just those two guys. It's those two guys, but they're such quality players that they make everyone on the ice a threat," Hynes said post-game. "When they get going, there is a lot of unpredictability in their game and they can turn plays you don't think they're able to turn. That's the challenge coming into the game. You know those guys are going to get their looks and get some opportunities, but we need to do a better job against them."
The duo will have two more opportunities this season to stuff the stats sheet against the Preds, with the two teams going head-to-head two more times at Bridgestone Arena later this year in December.