I really hate this “goal-less” Drai narrative that I’ve heard mentioned a couple times now by Sports media. Tonight it was mentioned that his goal-less drought continues on TSN. Heard the 0 goals being emphasized too on SN and others as well.
Seems like an assist was always known to be just as valueable as a goal to me. I mean the official points counting of the NHL for over 100 years values it that way. It definitely was when Gretzky was getting his flowers. It was even as Crosby and Thornton racked them up. I think today’s overrating of goal scoring over assists happened with the advent of the Matthews era and the need to overrate him. Or maybe it was the analytics era which has its own argument.
But on the topic of this short sample, these SCFs and in regards to Drai. You won’t find a better assist then the one he laid out in Game 6. An assist that shows his true value as one of the all time great playoff beasts. Very few players in the world could have created that assist and it started in the neutral zone with a great read on the play, anticipating we would stuff an entry, then great hand eye and athleticism in reaching for that errant puck, and of course the delay and sauce pass speaks for itself. That’s more valueable than the goal Foegle scored in this instance and in a lot of instances with all time greats.
