POST-GAME: Leon's legend grows with fourth 100-point season

EDMONTON, AB - Leave it to Leon -- the offensive driver, the leader and the legend.
With two goals as part of a line with Warren Foegele and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl eclipsed the century mark for points in a season for the fourth time in his nine-year NHL career by recording points number 99 and 100 on Tuesday night in a 6-3 victory at Rogers Place over the Ottawa Senators.
"I feel very fortunate. Obviously, very happy about it," Draisaitl stated post-game. "But this is my job. This is what I get paid to do, right? And I couldn't do it without any of these guys in here. I'm well aware of that and very appreciative of them finding me and putting me in the right spots, so very happy about that."
In a game where the Oilers had to find their footing in the first period despite scoring the opening goal, Draisaitl was the driver at both ends for Edmonton, whose German star looked simply untouchable and unbeatable in the eyes of his teammates and coaches.
For them, it wasn't even a discussion.
"In the end, we found goals from Derek Ryan, Nick Bjugstad and Warren Foegele had a heck of a game," Woodcroft said. "But I thought the best player on the ice tonight was Leon Draisaitl by a country mile."
"I thought he played the game like he was on a mission."

Connor McDavid has earned the attention this campaign, but the year that Draisaitl has put together deserves its praise and plaudits on its own for the German's ability to consistently raise the bar with every passing season and rise to the occasion in pursuit of two points each and every night for the Oilers.
McDavid and Draisaitl became the second set of teammates in NHL history to be the first two players to 100 points in consecutive seasons, and the first pair of teammates to combine for 100 goals in a season since 1995-96. Draisaitl is tracking to become the 14th player in NHL history to hit 50 goals and 50 assists in a season three separate times in their career after having successfully become the 27th player all-time to record four 100-point seasons.
"Leon, I think maybe he doesn't get enough attention as he deserves," Foegele, who contributed assists on both of Draisaitl's goals, added. "He's probably the best passer in the league and he's so smart. Just the way he kind of controls the game is something I've never seen before, and he's a talented player. We're lucky we got two of them on our team."
The 27-year-old eclipsed 20 minutes of ice time as one of only three Oilers forwards to cross the threshold on Tuesday night, scoring his 43rd and 44th goals of the campaign, adding six shots and being a force in the circles by winning 16-of-23 draws.

"I think he was 70 percent in the face-off circle," Woodcroft said. "He had a good conscience about him the entire game in terms of both sides of the puck. I think when he plays in the middle, he really gets his feet moving."
Not only is Draisaitl an inspiration and role model for teammates, but for German hockey as well, where he's grown to become the ambassador for the future of the sport in the European nation.
A large travelling contingent of German fans from overseas were in attendance at Rogers Place on Tuesday night to see both the superstar and his fellow countryman Tim Stützle compete in Oil Country, even gettting their jerseys and pictures taken post-game when Draisaitl made his way out of the dressing room and into the stands to meet the group.

On the ice, Draisaitl went toe-to-toe with Stützle, who's looked up to Leon and followed not too far behind in his German counterpart's footsteps on his way to the NHL. The two both posted two-goal nights and are the faces of German hockey, hoping to help grow the game and pave the way for the next generation of players from Deutschland.
"Yeah, it's a huge honor. If that's the way he sees me, then that is a big honor to me," Draisaitl said of the praise from Stützle. "He's a heck of a player himself, so he certainly doesn't have to shy away from anything himself. But if I can take on that role, then I'll gladly do that.
"Hopefully there are going to be more and more German players coming up and having a big-time impact on NHL teams."