On the final night of the regular season, Leon Draisaitl joined some elite company.
The Oilers forward waited until just over halfway through the first period Saturday, netting a wrister from the circle off an Andrej Sekera feed to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead over Calgary. The marker was Draisaitl's 50th of the season, making him the first Oiler to reach the plateau since both Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri did so during the 1986-87 season.
Draisaitl is the fifth player in franchise history to reach the milestone, joining Gretzky (eight times), Kurri (four times), Glenn Anderson (twice) and Mark Messier (once).
Leon Draisaitl (50-55—105) joined Wayne Gretzky (8x), Jari Kurri (4x), Glenn Anderson (2x) and Mark Messier as just the fifth player in @EdmontonOilers franchise history to score 50 goals in a single season. https://t.co/cDUIa3Tome #NHLStats #CGYvsEDM pic.twitter.com/eps1IAuxCR
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 7, 2019
Though he earned accolades, Draisaitl finished one goal shy of Alex Ovechkin (51) for the league lead. Draisaitl is the first non-Ovechkin player to reach the 50-goal mark since Steven Stamkos in 2011-12.
In addition to Draisaitl capping his strong year, the Oilers closed out their season with a 3-1 win over the Flames; however, the team's focus is on the well-being of team captain Connor McDavid, who left Saturday's game with an apparent leg injury.