Inside Leon Draisaitl's Stanley Cup Final MVP turn - ESPN

SUNRISE, Fla. — Leon Draisaitl is at his best when describing the Edmonton Oilers' worst moments.

They were «waxed» and «spanked» in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final by the Florida Panthers, when they lost 6-1. They «put us on our heels early and we were lollygagging around» in the first period of Game 4, when Florida built a 3-0 lead and chased starting goaltender Stuart Skinner for the second straight game.

«It's certainly not the time to lollygag around, right?» Draisaitl asked rhetorically.

Indeed, it is not, which might be why Draisaitl didn't let the Oilers linger in overtime too long before ending Game 4 with his 11th goal of the playoffs — shoving the puck towards the Panthers' net, having it deflect off defenseman Niko Mikkola and behind Sergei Bobrovsky at 11:18. Edmonton won 5-4, tied the series at 2-2 and completely flushed any lingering embarrassment over that Game 3 «spanking.»

In the process, Draisaitl continued to rewrite the NHL record books and loudly stated his case as the Stanley Cup playoffs' most valuable player.

As of Friday morning, Draisaitl had the second-best odds at winning the Conn Smythe Trophy, according to ESPN BET (+225), trailing Florida center Sam Bennett (+140) and ahead of teammate Connor McDavid (+260), who won the award in a losing effort last season.

Oilers defenseman Jake Walman believes that it's not just Draisaitl's scoring but his all-around game that's what makes him such a driving force for the Oilers.

«He's a beast who can do it all for us,» Walman said. «There have been stretches in this postseason when he's played great defensively too.»

Edmonton has a plus-4 in goal differential with Draisaitl on the ice in the postseason.

«It's incredible. He's a horse out there for us,»