LAS VEGAS -- There was no joy for Leon Draisaitl after his captivating, historic four-goal performance at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday.
The Edmonton Oilers forward couldn't even muster a smile in the aftermath of a 6-4 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 of the Western Conference Second Round.
He shook his head slightly from side to side, his mouth almost in a grimace when asked if he could find any happiness in his performance.
"We just, overall, weren't good enough," Draisaitl said. "It's not even close to how we play and how we successfully play. We've got to move on, and we'll be better."
Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is here Saturday (7 p.m. ET; TNT, CBC, SN, TVAS).
While Draisaitl couldn't find happiness, others couldn't help but marvel at the Germany-born forward, who tied the Oilers record for most goals in a Stanley Cup Playoff game, most recently accomplished by the legendary Jari Kurri in 1987.
His performance came one day after Joe Pavelski scored four goals for the Dallas Stars in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken in the other Western Conference Second Round series. It is the second time in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs a player had a four-goal performance on consecutive days; John Tucker and Tony Hrkac did it on April 9-10, 1988.
"He led the way for our group tonight," Edmonton forward Evander Kane said. "Great performance by him. It is a shame that we let it slip away."
Drasaitl scored the game-opening goal, but Vegas scored the next three. Draisaitl scored the next two goals to tie it 3-3, but the Golden Knights counter-punched again with two quick goals to make it 5-3 before Draisaitl scored again to make things interesting for the second half of the third period. Vegas forward Jack Eichel scored into the empty net with 34 seconds left to make it 6-4 and erase any hope of more comeback heroics from Draisaitl.
"He is a tremendous hockey player," Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. "He shows it night in and night out. "He is the one driving the bus for us right now.
"It is great to watch. I love the way he plays. I like the bite that he adds to his game. He is just a tremendous hockey player."
The numbers Draisaitl has put up in the first seven games of the 2023 playoffs are eye-popping. He leads the NHL with 15 points (11 goals, four assists) in seven games.
It was the second hat trick of Draisaitl's NHL playoff career. He is the seventh player in Oilers history with multiple postseason hat tricks, joining Wayne Gretzky (7), Kurri (7), Esa Tikkanen (3), Mark Messier (3), Glenn Anderson (2) and Kane (2).
He has seven multigoal games in the NHL playoffs. Since making his postseason debut in 2017, the only other players with as many are Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (10) and Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel (7).
He is the fifth player in NHL history to reach 10 goals in seven games or fewer in a playoff year, and the first since Steve Payne in 1981.
He has multiple goals in a playoff period for the fifth time in his NHL career. The only players in Oilers history with as many such outings are Kurri (12), Gretzky (10) and Messier (5), perhaps the three most famous forwards from the Oilers dynasty years during the 1980s.
MacKinnon and Kane of the Oilers led the 2022 playoffs with 13 goals. Draisaitl already has 11.
"Does that sound funny to anyone?" Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy asked, wonder in his voice and a smile on his face when he mentioned Draisaitl's 11 goals.
He could smile afterward because the Oilers had a no-passenger performance that allowed them to outscore the brilliant performance of one of the best players in the game.
But while it was unfolding, there was little to smile about on the Golden Knights bench.
Drasaitl scored twice on the power play, once with a one-timer from the right face-off circle and once in-tight on a pass from Zach Hyman. His third-period goal at 8:33 came on a rush, one of the few times all night when Vegas allowed Edmonton to gain the attacking blue line with speed.
But it was the second goal, with 10.2 seconds left in the first period, that will be on all the highlight reels.
Draisaitl received the puck behind the goal line, to the right of the net. The assumption was he was waiting for a seam to exploit with a pass.
Instead, he gently scooped the puck into the air and bounced it off the back of goalie Laurent Brossoit and into the net.
"My first look is a pass to, but it wasn't there so I thought I would try it," Draisaitl said.
Brossoit couldn't be upset afterward, even though he will be the eternal foil in this particular highlight.
"He's a world-class player," Brossoit said. "He's been that all year. Very impressive. Everyone talks about Connor (McDavid), but Leon is a [heck] of a player. So, we have to be aware of when he's out there. Even though he scored four, it could have been worse, as odd as it is to say."
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