Leon Draisaitl scored his 9th career NHL hat trick en route to 50 goals on the season as the Edmonton Oilers clinched a spot in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs with a 6-0 shutout victory over the Anaheim Ducks Saturday night in the oil capital of Canada.
Zach Hyman (34) tallied the lone goal of the 1st period for the Oilers. It came just a couple of minutes in at the 17:56 mark.
Leon Draisaitl (48) similarly needed just a couple of minutes for his first goal of the night at 2:03. Darnell Nurse (11) made it 3-0 Edmonton at 5:05, and then Draisaitl's 2nd of the game (49) on the power play at 11:44 marked the final goal for the Oilers in the 2nd period.
Edmonton only needed a pair of goals to put things away towards the end of regulation, their first goal of the final 20 minutes coming from Connor McDavid (62) at 4:25 and then Draisaitl's hat trick goal shorthanded, his big 50, at 15:01.
The Oilers outshot Anaheim 45-36 and edged them on faceoff wins 33-32. Anaheim countered with a 20-16 hits advantage and an even amount of penalty minutes, with both squads racking up 8 each.
Edmonton improves to 45-23-9 standing at 2nd in the Pacific Division riding a 4-game win streak, another win behind the Vegas Golden Knights and a playoff berth in hand. Their next contest is a trip to LA to face the Kings on April 4 at 10:30 pm. Anaheim, meanwhile, falls to 23-43-10 and remains dead last in the Pacific on a brutal 7-game slide, while being eliminated from playoff contention since a 2-1 home loss to the Vancouver Canucks back on March 19. Their next game is a trip to Calgary against the Flames tonight at 8 pm.
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