from Mark Spector of Sportsnet,
There are floor-to-ceiling windows in the room where the Edmonton Oilers conduct their postgame interviews. Inside, the players are calm and quotable, just two games into a nice start to the NHL season.
Outside on the street, it was bedlam, with 300-400 fans banging on the windows and cheering on Jesse Puljujarvi as he sat at the podium next to Leon Draisaitl, chanting “MVP! MVP! MVP” when it was Connor McDavid’s turn, and generally acting as if it were June, not October.
The Oilers beat Calgary 5-2 on a sudsy Saturday night in The Big E, and the local superstar had a hat trick. McDavid even scored one on that one-timer he’s been working on at practice. You remember, the one Draisaitl had joked was “fluffy” when asked about McDavid’s shot a few days ago.
Draisaitl was ready when he took to the podium after the game.
“If you watch the replay, it WAS a little fluffy,” he kidded. “It came off nice, but it was fluffing. It was a nice shot, I will give him that. A very nice shot. Good for him.”
Good for him.
It was a metaphorical pat on the head from a 50-goal scorer with one of the best one-timers in the game, to a player who scores every which way but like that -- until Saturday night. Like Rory McIlroy saying, “Nice drive,” when you “blister” one 225 yards down the middle.
Game highlights are below.
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