MCDAVID AT FULL THROTTLE AGAINST DUCKS
Oilers’ captain was dominant despite just one assist in shootout victory
Connor McDavid often looks like storied sprinter Usain Bolt on steroids when he’s blowing by harried checkers on whatever sheet of ice he’s on, but what was most noteworthy against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night was his demand for the puck on every single shift.
In a lot of ways, he was channelling Mark Messier, who said ‘climb aboard’ on a lot of nights following the departure of Wayne Gretzky, without Moose’s meanstreets attitude.
McDavid seemingly willed the Oilers team to the 2-1 shootout win, and his teammates were suitably impressed and fully engaged, and hopefully will do the same in Dallas Saturday and in Chicago Sunday afternoon as they start their five-game road trip desperately needing a winning streak.
It was the Oilers captain’s most complete game since opening night three months ago against the Calgary Flames when he had seven shots and all three goals in a 3-0 win. There was one glaring difference. McDavid didn’t take a single faceoff that October night. Against the Ducks, he won 13 of his 20 draws, beating Antoine Vermette, the NHL’s second-best faceoff man (59.6 per cent on 793 chances) on five of their six, and his blood-hound Ryan Kesler (54.5) on five of eight draws.
This from a player who’s 40.1 per cent on the year, and knows that is the one area in which he clearly struggles in his third NHL season and, on some nights, doesn’t seem to care if he loses them because he’ll get the puck anyway. In Thursday’s game, though, he seemed possessed on faceoffs.
While he showed his incredible speed on one play in the middle period — he shot the puck on net, it careened to the corner boards where he outraced everybody to get it, then wound up again for an offensive thrust — the play that stood out came late in the game, when he dipped his shoulder on a drive to the net rather than pull up, with Kesler desperately trying to slow him down.
“Connor skated 100 miles, going 100 miles an hour and the Ducks aren’t an easy team to play against as we know from the past,” said Oilers head coach Todd McLellan, who liked his captain’s will as much as the thrill. “Connor showed tremendous leadership. He said, 'Follow me. I’m going to do it right. I’m going to do it fast and you guys come along.’ And they did.”
Mark Letestu also noticed a bit-in-the-mouth McDavid against the Ducks.
“When you see him coming back and demanding the puck, it gives us all confidence,” said Letestu. “The one shift where he circled the offensive zone then the whole ice without breaking stride, that was impressive to watch, but when he’s driving like that, that’s leadership.
“The shift (driving the net with Kesler) is a form of his leadership, too. He’s not a get up in here and throw helmets kind of guy. He’s not a really vocal leader, but when he’s out there driving the play like that, that’s his form of leadership. Lifts everybody. You can tell from the crowd, too.”
Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf actually felt his club “did a good job of containing him, doing the things we needed to do around
Connor showed tremendous leadership. He said, ‘Follow me. I’m going to do it right. I’m going to do it fast and you guys come along.’ And they did.
him. He’s going to get his opportunities, you’re never going to shut down a guy like that, but it’s a matter of containing things.”
It’s true that McDavid, who went into the game without a point in three games (an NHL high for him) had only one assist on Kris Russell’s goal, but the Ducks couldn’t handle him, even Kesler who, to be fair, is coming back from off-season hip surgery and wasn’t his usual antagonizing self.
McDavid easily could have scored five points. He hit the crossbar on John Gibson in overtime, was stopped on an early breakaway, set up Russell for another shot that went off the iron, and fed Leon Draisaitl in OT.
McDavid didn’t stand up and guarantee he’d break his pointless drought Thursday morning. But, you could tell from the first shift, he wasn’t going to make it four games in a row, although he looked disappointed when he missed the early breakaway chance, trying to shoot it fivehole on Gibson.
“You are going to go through stretches like that. At other times, you aren’t playing your best hockey and you are still finding a way to get points,” McDavid said. “Hockey is a funny game that way, but it finds a way of balancing itself out. It is obviously frustrating when you are getting chances and generating plays and not finding a way to find the net, though.”