EDMONTON – Connor McDavid is doing a masterful post-season performance class and is pushing the Edmonton Oilers to greater heights.
Take, for example, McDavid’s play in Game 2 of the second round of the Edmonton Stanley Cup playoff series against the Calgary Flames. The Oilers were losing 3-1 after a disallowed goal, and McDavid had just set up a later goal for Leon Draisaitl who was also dismissed.
Frustrating? Not for McDavid. Shortly afterwards, the Edmonton captain took control and went through Calgary’s defense to score against Jacob Markstrom.
Edmonton Bank exploded. The Oilers returned to business. And Calgary would not score again, as Edmonton won 5-3 and even the best-of-seven series 1-1.
McDavid didn’t have much to say about his goal: “I’m happy to contribute,” he said afterwards, but he hadn’t been fooled by his impact, or what McDavid is having in those playoffs.
And if McDavid doesn’t talk about his move, there are a lot of people around him willing to take the plunge.
“The way this guy is playing right now is special,” Oilers interim coach Jay Woodcroft said. “He’s pushing our team forward. Connor is the best hockey player in the world. He’s willing to pay a price to win. He’s driven to win. He has an effect on everyone in our organization with this desire to lead the your game to the next level.
“I think he’s pushing his own limits, right? And that’s what special players do,” added striker Zach Hyman. “He’s taken his game to another level, and that’s hard to do. But he’s leading our team in every way. He’s doing everything. It’s a big reason we’re here.”
2 Related
“Here” for the Oilers now leads its series with Calgary 2-1 after a 4-1 in Game 3 on Sunday. McDavid had three points in that game, with two of Evander Kane’s three goals and one from Hyman. But McDavid’s dominance goes beyond the scoreboard.
It can also get inside your head.
“We let a guy win us a few nights now,” Flames striker Matthew Tkachuk said after Sunday’s defeat. “Go back to the drawing board and look for a way to stop it. They almost have a player who is playing half the game and is playing great hockey right now and we need to find a way to stop it.”
Considering the layers of McDavid’s contributions lately, it will be like stopping a freight train:
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He can effortlessly attack the offensive zone with unparalleled speed.
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You can run under pressure to keep a play alive.
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Defensive fight to create an offensive.
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He is physically engaged, throwing the second most hits (12) for Edmonton in this Battle of Alberta series, and has amassed the third most hits (33) in 10 playoff games.
The list could go on and on. McDavid has only sharpened since the Oilers opened their first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings, hitting the brick wall that was Jonathan Quick until he was able to drag Edmonton to a seven-game win.
McDavid leads the NHL postseason field in points (23), as it did in the regular season (123). This season he is a finalist for the Hart Trophy again. But it is not these recognitions that distinguish him. And that’s not why Woodcroft is willing to put his superstar on the ice when Edmonton is protecting a critical advantage under duress, as he was at the end of Game 2.
“What I saw was a leader who, when the game was in play, was ready to be in a shooting lane,” Woodcroft said. “When the goalkeeper is thrown and we’re killing a penalty, he was out for a reason. He put his body on the line for us to win. And that kind of self-sacrifice is what it takes to win this time of course.”
The McDavid effect in numbers
A look at McDavid and passing the sight test. His postseason stats reveal an even bigger story.
In Sunday’s game 3, McDavid became the first player in Stanley Cup playoff history with nine multipoint contests during his first 10 games.
The most atypical was a useless night in Game 4 against LA (a bleach for Quick). Since then, McDavid has recorded multiple points in six consecutive competitions, marking the longest streak since Evgeni Malkin achieved the same feat in 2009 (and finally won the Conn Smythe when Pittsburgh lifted the Cup). Only Wayne Gretzky (eight games in a row in 1983), Darryl Sittler (seven in 1977) and Tony Currie (seven in 1981) have done better.
The 23 points McDavid has accumulated are tied (with Rick Middleton of Boston in 1983) in fourth place during the first 10 playoff games, just behind Gretzky (29 in 1983 and 25 in 1985) and Mario Lemieux (25 in 1992). ).
Overall, McDavid has produced brilliant individual numbers, while skating alongside other prominent talents in Draisaitl and Kane. His figures are just one piece of the puzzle, though.
Noting that Connor McDavid faces several opposing defenders is not uncommon. Curtis Comeau / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
“[What] proves, “Oilers goalkeeper Mike Smith said,” is that when your best players play the best hockey of their career in the playoffs, your team has a very good chance of winning. “
And com.
According to Stathletes, the Oilers have generated 34 chances (11.3 per game) against the Flames when McDavid is on the ice. Without him, Edmonton has created only 17 chances to score (5.7 per game) and has allowed 42 chances to score against (14.0 per game).
He also leads all skaters in this series in goals expected for 60 minutes (5.52). Draisaitl is second, with 5.18. Kane is third with 3.82.
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During the Oilers’ first 10 playoff games, Edmonton outscored opponents 102-47 with McDavid on the ice, a staggering +55 spread. In comparison, the Oilers have 62 goals without McDavid on the ice and have allowed 101 goals.
As a team, Edmonton has generated 28 goals in 5 against 5 in the postseason; McDavid has been there for 17 (or 60.7%) of them.
With McDavid in the mix, the Oilers have only given up 169 shooting attempts (16.9 per game) in these playoffs, compared to 376 (37.6 per game) when McDavid is on the bench.
It’s an amazing reflection on McDavid’s overall gameplay and represents the sheer volume of ways it makes Edmonton better. He is already widely recognized as the best player in the NHL, but McDavid has not stopped reinventing, tweaking and improving. It is this commitment to excellence that most impresses peers.
“He continues every year, in every major situation, to go one step further and take his game to the next level,” Oilers striker Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. “I think in these playoffs he’s been physically beating guys, he uses his body to protect the record and get on the forecheck. We see him as a group and he obviously makes plays at every opportunity. [that are] available and creates something out of nothing in so many situations. But for our group, when is your captain and he does [other stuff]you want to follow that and you want to follow his example “.
“Driven to be the best in the world”
Every time McDavid played the record in Game 3, a roar erupted in Rogers Place. The chants of “MVP” rained regularly among the thousands of T-shirts that bore his name.
When McDavid made an open ice blow over the Tkachuk Flames plague in the first period, a crescendo of spirits. When McDavid’s speed sparked an interference call against Calgary’s Trevor Lewis, a shout broke his ears.
This is the power that McDavid wields. No words needed.
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“I think what Connor is doing is special?” Woodcroft asked. “You don’t need me to tell you.”
McDavid will also not provide much information about its excellence. All his best talk is on the ice.
In that sense, what else can be said? McDavid is more than a game changer. It’s a series breaker. And he opened it up in Edmonton when he faces Game 4 on Tuesday (9:30 ET, ESPN) with the opportunity to put Calgary on the brink of elimination.
That would be just one more day in the office for McDavid.
“Every aspect of Connor as a professional hockey player is business-oriented,” Woodcroft said. “He’s driven to be the best in the world. He’s driven to find marginal gains on a day-to-day basis. During times of crisis or adverse times in games, what you’re seeing is someone who still maintains his character. In his game “I see an elevation or a desire to do a little more. And I think that kind of effort and leadership is contagious. And I think it resonates with our players.”
With two more wins against Edmonton’s provincial rivals, he will do so on an even bigger stage.