"I think [McDavid's] defensive game is underrated," Draisaitl said after scoring his second goal of the season. "He's so good at anticipating and reading plays. You saw it there. He baited the guy a little bit, waited for that pass, then took the pass and then took off.
"He's very good in that regard."
Oilers coach Todd McLellan saw the sequence the same way, that McDavid purposely laid back a little in order to entice Marchand to try the long pass.
"He made a smart play to stay high because he had a D-man down low," McLellan said. "We were just contemplating in there that you never know with Connor if he was baiting the pass, knowing he could pick it off. I think he maybe was.
"He knows his speed, his pace and timed it so that it looked like they could make that play and he picked it off and went the other way."
McDavid, who has either scored or assisted on 11 of Edmonton's first 13 goals this season (he has four goals, seven assists), was unavailable after the game.
That it was a defensive play by McDavid that gave the Oilers a winning edge did not surprise goalie Cam Talbot.
"He makes a lot of defensive plays but sometimes they go unnoticed because of what he does on the offensive end," Talbot said. "He's always hustling back, breaking up 2-on-1's and things like that. I think because of everything he does offensively, sometimes those things get overlooked.
"If he doesn't come back as hard as he does there, Bergeron's got a breakaway, and that's not one of the guys in overtime you want having a breakaway. Heck of a play by Connor. Great feed to Leon and great finish."
