Leon Draisaitl discounts Arturs Silovs’ 42-save performance in Oilers’ Game 3 loss

Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers had a frustrating night against the Vancouver Canucks in Game 3 on Sunday. They did everything they could to score, but the Canucks goaltender Arturs Silovs was like a brick wall in front of the net.

Silovs made some great saves on the night, especially in the late stages of the third period. He faced 45 shots from the Oilers and stopped 42 of them, only letting in three goals.

It was also a career-high save game for the 23-year-old netminder. However, what made Silovs’ performance special was the fact that the Vancouver Canucks attempted only 16 shots in the game.

In the post-game media interaction, when asked about whether it was good goaltending or just luck in the Oilers’ defeat, Leon Draisaitl seemed to downplay Arturs Silovs’ 42-game performance and attributed it more to bad luck than great goaltending.

The Oilers had multiple shots that hit the goalpost. Draisaitl said that hitting the post doesn’t necessarily mean good goaltending. Instead, he felt that the Oilers needed to do a better job of capitalizing on their scoring chances:

“Well, post is not good goaltending, but yeah, we can certainly do a better job of bearing down, and you know, like I said, capitalizing on it, ” Draisaitl said after the game (via Sportsnet on X).

Leon Draisaitl acknowledged that Silovs made some big saves, but he reckons that Oilers have the firepower to put the puck past him:

“I think we got enough guys in here. They can put the puck past him; have shown it so far. He’s obviously playing well, made some big, big stops for them. But yeah, we just gotta, you know, be a little cleaner, and you know, look to bear down a little bit more,” he added.

The Canucks are 2-1 up in the series against the Oilers following their 4-3 Game 2 win at Rogers Place on Sunday night.

Leon Draisaitl and Edmonton Oilers ready for Game 4

Draisaitl accumulated two points in the matchup and leads the postseason with 18 points accumulated through seven goals and 11 assists in eight games.

The 28-year-old German forward has accumulated six points in the series against the Vancouver Canucks.

Following the Game 3 loss, Leon Draisaitl said the Oilers were a better team for the most part and felt that their performance should have led to a win. The team is now focused on regrouping and ready to go for Game 4:

“I thought we were the better team, for the most part,” Draisaitl said (via NHL.com). “In my eyes, it should have resulted in a win, but you know that’s not the way hockey works sometimes. “So, we’ll just regroup and get ready for Game 4.”

Game 4 returns to Rogers Place on Tuesday.