EDMONTON – There isn’t another hockey player on the planet like Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid.
But Game 3 of the Western Conference final was a scary reminder that McDavid has another side to his offensive arsenal.
McDavid scored twice as the Oilers crushed the Dallas Stars 6-1 to take a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference final.
And that means McDavid putting the puck in the net – to say nothing of the rest of his game.
McDavid had 79 goals in 183 regular-season and postseason games since then before Sunday, as his penchant for setting up others shone through.
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers captain, Connor McDavid, is the best hockey player in the world.
In his peak form, he’s like a cheat code in the easy mode of a video game, scuttling around the ice with unmatched speed and flawless edgework. He has a two-second advantage over his peers because of his ability to process the game more quickly, according to Sherry Bassin, his former general manager of the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League. Given his skill and vision, he is possibly the NHL’s most potent offensive threat.
However, McDavid has a reputation for being a selfless teammate when he has the puck, which dates back to when he was tearing up minor hockey circles in the Greater Toronto Area with and against kids a year older. It is frequently to the linemate’s advantage to zip around, making opponents nervous and on their heels while he passes the puck for a fantastic scoring opportunity.
He was one of only five players in NHL history to reach 100 assists, which he did last season. This is the reason he broke Wayne Gretzky’s single-season record in the postseason with 34 assists during a Conn Smythe Trophy run last year. Because of this, he leads the league in assists this spring as well.
However, the Western Conference final’s Game 3 served as a frightening reminder that McDavid has additional offensive weapons.
“We are aware that he can score goals,” linemate Ryan Nugent-Hopkins remarked with a laugh. He consistently scores a lot of goals for us during crucial moments. You see him giving it off a lot because he’s so good at making room for other guys. However, we are aware that he will puck them in when the time is appropriate. “”.
On Sunday, the timing was impeccable. In the Western Conference final, the Oilers defeated the Dallas Stars 6-1, taking a 2-1 series lead thanks to two goals from McDavid.
With the sixth multi-goal performance of his playoff career, McDavid is now up to 22 points in the postseason, one point ahead of Mikko Rantanen of the Stars and teammate Leon Draisaitl for first place.
In 14 games this spring, those goals were only the fourth and fifth. Given how decisively McDavid scored them, you wouldn’t know it.
“People tend to forget that he has scored 60 goals,” linemate Zach Hyman remarked. He is a goal scorer who is underappreciated. He’s able to score goals. Whether it’s a pass or a goal, he simply makes the right move. He is the world’s greatest player. There’s a good chance it will go in when he gets a chance to shoot it. “”.
In both of McDavid’s shots, which were in line with his usual flash and style, Stars goalie Jake Oettinger had no chance.
During his three-on-one marker, McDavid blasted past Thomas Harley after the Stars defenseman failed to pinch him. Then, after he got a return feed from Nugent-Hopkins, he tore a one-timer over Oettinger’s left shoulder.
At 14:38 of the first period, 36 seconds after their first goal, that gave the Oilers a 2-0 lead.
His second goal was what Dallas coach Pete DeBoer referred to as a “back-breaker” because the Stars had chopped the Oilers’ lead in half four minutes prior and were attempting to tie the score.
McDavid ate up a puck that Evan Bouchard had kept in the Stars zone after missing a wraparound opportunity. Shortly before the second half, he skated in and tore one stick side, beating Oettinger by 18:08.
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch stated, “Just knowing that we had that two-goal lead changed the temperature in the dressing room and on the bench.”.
The attack was driven by McDavid’s goals, but this game was about more than that. Given that Hyman and Nugent-Hopkins each scored three points, he actually had the fewest points of any of his teammates. Hyman had 10 hits to increase his league-high total to 109 while he was plus-5.
Stuart Skinner, the Oilers’ goalie, had perhaps his best playoff performance, which is noteworthy given that he had recorded shutouts in three of his previous four starts prior to Sunday. According to Natural Stat Trick, Skinner made 33 saves, including a few momentum-swingers, while the Stars had 14 high-danger opportunities and a 70 expected goals percentage at five-on-five.
Since replacing Calvin Pickard due to an injury in Game 3 of the previous round, Skinner has had four excellent performances out of six, and the Oilers cannot win this game without him.
However, they also can’t win this game without their best line performing. In addition to the rest of his game, that entails McDavid putting the puck in the net.
“He was amazing,” Skinner remarked. Throughout the playoffs, his performance on all three ends of the ice has been extremely impressive. “”.
Hyman brought up McDavid’s 2022–2023 season, in which he scored 64 goals and won the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL’s best sniper. Up until Sunday, McDavid had scored 79 goals in 183 regular-season and postseason games, demonstrating his knack for creating opportunities for others.
Despite being primarily anchored to McDavid’s wing, Hyman scored 54 goals in the previous season and an additional 16 in the playoffs, which led the NHL. McDavid played a smaller role in Leon Draisaitl’s Rocket-winning performance this season.
Even though McDavid’s goals haven’t led to the red light going off as frequently as it has lately, they have always been on his stick. He reminded me a lot of the goals he scored two seasons ago with the way he blasted both shots past Oettinger. He firmly chose his spots and appeared confident in his choices.
Knoblauch pointed to McDavid and his wingers’ outstanding underlying numbers to show that he knew the tide would eventually turn towards them. They have a 63 expected goals percentage in 69 minutes of five-on-five play, according to Natural Stat Trick, but they had only outscored opponents 2-1 prior to Sunday.
“I was a little surprised that we made it through the playoffs and he hadn’t scored more goals despite having a lot of shots and good opportunities,” Knoblauch remarked. The luck effect is one of them. It is not always the case that they enter. They were going to start producing, and you knew it would eventually make a breakthrough. The moment was only a matter of time. “”.
Game 3 showcased the Oilers’ well-rounded offensive strategy. John Klingberg became the 18th skater and fifth defenseman to score a goal in 14 games with a late power-play goal. Instead of McDavid or Draisaitl taking over as they so frequently have in the past, they have won games—and a lot of them.
However, since the Los Angeles Kings opener, McDavid may have had his best offensive showing of the playoffs. That night, he contributed three stunning assists and an incredible goal to a stunning comeback in the third period that ended in failure when Phillip Danault scored the game-winning goal in the closing minute.
McDavid had only scored twice since that April 21 match: once when he attempted to center a pass to Hyman but it went off a defenseman’s skate, and once into an empty net. Despite all of his stellar rushes, sublime setups, and contributions to this Oilers team, he has yet to display his amazing goal-scoring ability.
Right up until Sunday.
Given how well the Oilers seem to understand the Stars in practically every aspect, that might be the icing on the cake.
“It won’t be long,” Knoblauch stated, “but good players can play well and not score. It will not be long before they begin to enter. It was the night of tonight. “”.
Imagn Images/Perry Nelson took the picture.
