‘He’s just elite’: Veteran Oilers forward Corey Perry making big impact against Kings

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Corey Perry is one for the ages.

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This is a man who lives for the postseason, and in the 219th playoff game of his 20-year career, Perry, who turns 40 in three weeks, continues to be a true player.

A gamer, in every sense of that word. If you’re an Edmonton Oiler fan, you’re lucky enough to watch Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, first-ballot Hall of Famers, but Perry? He’ll be there, too. Only 12 guys in history have ever played more often in the post-season furnace, winning a Stanley Cup in Anaheim, making the finals in Dallas, Tampa, Montreal and here last June. He’s won Olympic gold, Hart trophies.

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If there’s a player who loves his job more, we haven’t found him. If it’s hard finding Waldo, Corey is hiding in plain sight. There was the fourth oldest player in the NHL scoring that dazzling, hand-eye power play goal on Los Angeles Kings’ goalie Darcy Kuemper in the second period, then grinding shift after shift—walking the line now, not crossing it–and in the middle of it all on Draisaitl’s PP game-winner winner deep into the OT to offer up an exclamation point in Sunday’s must-win, chaotic 4-3 Edmonton Oilers rally in Game 4.

He started on the fourth line with Mattias Janmark and Trent Frederic but found his way up to the first with Draisaitl and McDavid, and on the first PP. He played 20 minutes, had two points, four shots on net (three others blocked) and added four hits as the Oilers rescued this one, coming back from two goals down in the third, then pouring it on in the OT (18 shots in 18 minutes) to tie the series.

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His goal to make it 2-1 was sensational, backhanding a 10-footer up high that Darcy Kuemper stopped, then casually batting a waist-high rebound out of the air and into the net. Then, he was standing in front of Kuemper, blocking his view as Evan Bouchard’s shot that hit Drew Doughty’s skate and in to make it 3-2 in the third.

He was on the ice in the desperate last 30 seconds with all the big guns when the Bouch-Bomb exploded to tie it. In OT, he was banging away in front of Kuemper, before Draisaitl pounced on a loose puck for the winner.

Kevin Lowe, who played 214 post-season games, used to say that playoff games were like two regular-season games because of the intensity burning bright in the spring. And Perry has played almost three seasons in the playoffs, on top of his 1,392 league games. How? By being the ultimate rink rat.

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“The playoffs? There’s no better time to play, April, May and June. This is what you dream of as a kid, this is why we play the game, this is exciting,” he said.

“You hear the building, guys are excited on the bench. You’re playing for each other, we’re a family, and that’s why you do,” said Perry, who truly lives for the playoff atmosphere, relishing the fight.

Again, those 219 playoff games are almost three extra seasons.

“Yeah, but it’s fun man. I wouldn’t change it for anything. I’ve been fortunate to be on some good teams that have gone deep and like I said, this is what it’s all about,” said Perry, who never seems to wilt in the playoffs, which is why he has 131 playoff points and four in four games this spring, closing in on 40.

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“It’s playoffs, the ice starts to shrink, and everything gets magnified. And if you don’t win those battles, it goes the other way…you take pride in that and that’s the way I’ve always played,” said Perry, who was sitting on top of Kuemper earlier in the game, as he wrestled with Drew Doughty just outside the blue-paint, falling on the goalie accidentally, on purpose.

‘He’s a gamer’: Draisaitl

Draisaitl has never seen anybody quite like Perry in a young man’s game.

“I honestly think he could play until he’s 50, just because of his brain. We’ll see if the boots keep up there, but, uh, he’s just a gamer. He knows how to play the game,” said Draiasitl has nine points in the four games of this Kings’ series.

“He’s just elite,” said Draisaitl, who had a goal and three assists of his own in the pulsating victory. “He’s nearly 40 years old and has an impact on every single game. It’s incredible. He’s one of the smartest hockey players I’ve ever seen. He’s so unique the way he thinks and plays the game.”

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Draisaitl’s on-ice hockey IQ is through the roof, as is McDavid’s, but Perry is in their league, navigating his way around the rink, even though foot speed has never been his calling card. How? No shortcuts.

“He just reads the play before it happens and knows exactly how to manoeuvre himself into situations to be successful…he plays on the fourth line and is successful, he plays with Connor and I and he’s successful,” said Draisaitl.

“Those guys are hard to come by, and he can play any game. He understands what he has to do to put himself in good situations, but what doesn’t get noticed is how he puts other people in good situations. He puts Connor and I in them because he’s demanded so much attention in his career and continues to do so.”

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No argument from McDavid, laughing softly at what Perry brings to the table.

‘I can’t say enough good things’: McDavid

“What a gamer. He’s been doing it forever. He just never stops,” said McDavid, who had three assists in the win and drew the penalty in OT on Vlad Gavrikov to set up the PP winner 44 seconds after Gavrikov sat in the box.

“He’s rangy, smart, I can’t say enough good things about him. He’s in so many battles. He wins another one in front in overtime (winner),” raved McDavid.

He’s been the feel-good story of the season, really. He had 19 goals (15 ES) and 30 points, averaging 12 minutes a game, playing all but one of the 82 games when many thought he might be platooned and might only dress for 50 or so games at his age.

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He’s continued on in the playoffs with two more goals and two helpers.

“Corey’s played really well all season…he’d probably get angry at me saying he’s exceeded expectations,” said Oiler coach Kris Knoblauch. “Playing mostly fourth-line, very little power play time on the first unit. He’s continued to get better throughout the playoffs. We’ve been very fortunate he’s played as well as he has, not only scoring goals and putting up points, but the veteran leadership.”

And nobody’s more veteran than Perry, who still has his legs and heart.

Maybe it’s becoming a war of attrition with the Kings, though, playing basically four D—Drew Doughty, Gavrikov, Mikey Anderson and Joel Edmundson, all over 31 minutes, with Edmundson at 36:16—and only nine forwards in games while the Oilers played four lines and five D Sunday with Ty Emberson not playing after the midway point of the second period. They’re getting healthier, too.

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“That’s why it’s a seven-game series, you’re trying to wear the other team down,” said Perry. “I don’t know how many guys they were using, we were rolling four lines and trying to keep the pressure on.”

And nobody likes pressure more than Corey Perry.

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