Draisaitl: Not 'realistic' for me to score 82 goals this season
Leon Draisaitl is on a historic pace nearly a quarter of the way into the NHL season, but the Edmonton Oilers superstar doesn't think he'll keep it up.
Through 19 games, Draisaitl has collected 20 goals and 20 assists. That projects to 86 goals and 86 assists in 82 games.
"I guess it's a little crazy to think that I'm going to score 50 goals in 50 games," Draisaitl said when asked what it would mean to him if he could accomplish the feat after the Oilers defeated the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday. Draisaitl scored two goals and added two assists.
"Obviously, right now, pucks are going in for me, but this is a tough league to score in so I don't expect to hit that stat at all. Obviously going to keep shooting - if they go in, great. I know there's going to come times where they're probably not going to go in."
He's the first Oilers player besides Wayne Gretzky to record 40 points prior to the 20-game mark in a season, according to Sportsnet Stats. Draisaitl is also the first NHL player to record 40 points through 19 games since Mario Lemieux scored 44 and Jaromir Jagr scored 41 during the 1995-96 campaign.
Since the beginning of the 2018-19 season, Draisaitl ranks second in the league with 339 points in 228 games. He trails only teammate Connor McDavid, who has 354 points in 217 contests. Brad Marchand and Patrick Kane each have 277 points, though Marchand did it in 218 games to Kane's 222.
Asked to discuss the idea of an 82-goal season, Draisaitl said it's a nearly impossible task.
"You expect me to score 82 goals this year? That's not gonna happen," Draisaitl laughed. "Obviously playing with 97 (McDavid) makes it a lot easier - a lot more free ice out there with him. But I don't expect that of myself. That's not anything that's realistic, I think."
Draisaitl leads the NHL in points (40) and goals (20) and ranks second in assists (20).
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