Time for Leon Draisaitl to get his act together for the Oilers

With two consecutive wins, the Edmonton Oilers are halfway to completing what would be a comeback for the ages. And if achieved, it would immortalise Connor McDavid and his teammates as just the second ever team to recover from a 3-0 series deficit to win the Stanley Cup.

However, in order to do this the Oilers need to have certain players step up their game, with the prime example being Leon Draisaitl. Pure and simple, he has just not been good enough during this series versus the Florida Panthers.

We more than appreciate that overall, Draisaitl has played a major role in getting the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final in the first place. As things stand, he is tied second among all NHL players with 10 playoff goals, and third with 30 total points.

Draisaitl has gone AWOL against the Panthers

However, the reality is the 2020 Hart Memorial Trophy winner has been struggling against the Panthers specifically. He has just two assists and a -2 rating, while averaging 22:06 of ice time in the five games played.

Draisaitl has only played well in two of the games for the Oilers, in games one and four. At the risk of sounding harsh however, it ultimately didn't matter in game one, while in game four -- where he produced his two assists -- everyone was notching up points for fun in the 8-1 rout.

The five-time NHL All-Star has arguably not even been average in the other three games, highlighted by a lack of points in general during recent weeks. Consider that he had nine multi-point games in his first 11 playoff appearances, but just one in the 12 contests since.

Not helping Draisaitl's reputation, is the controversial hit he put on the Panthers' Aleksander Barkov in game two. While he avoided suspension, it still didn't reflect favourably on him.

There is some speculation the 2014 third overall draft pick has been dealing with an injury, but this cannot be clarified. There was a concern he had suffered an injury during game one of the Vancouver Canucks series, but this was passed off by Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch as cramping and equipment issues.

Oilers and their fans should expect more from Draisaitl

As such, we need to expect more from Draisaitl. No matter how special McDavid is, he still needs help from his teammates, particularly a player who is regularly described as being among the top 5-10 in the game today.

Stepping up would also help the Germany native's case for the lucrative extension he wants which, according to Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff, is already being discussed with the organisation. Yes he's going to be well-paid regardless, but it sure can't hurt to help your case by playing well in what will hopefully for the fans, be two more games for the Oilers.

Draisaitl is a special player, of that there is no doubt. He's been one of the most productive players in the game for these past six seasons, surpassing 100 points in all but the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign.

However, the 28-year-old has picked an extremely inopportune time to stop producing, with so much on the line. He needs to get his act together and help the Oilers complete their quest to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1990.

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