It is going to be an absolute struggle to not make every game day blog about Connor McDavid because he is such an incredible player. I can make no promises that this space doesn’t become a McDavid appreciation blog.
McDavid’s point production stats are now comparable to the best in the NHL. Edmonton has 3 of the top 5 forwards in the NHL in 5v5 Points per 60 minutes. McDavid is tops at 2.85 P/60, then it’s Draisaitl in the 2 spot at 2.77 P/60, then it’s Hall at the 5th position at 2.64 P/60.
As far as Power Play production goes, McDavid is 5th among NHL forwards with 7.73 P/60 over all PP states. In terms of On-Ice goals for per 60 minutes, the Oiler PP is rolling along at 10.82 Goals per 60 when McDavid is out there. That’s roughly twice the efficiency as when the Hall unit is out there.
Let’s give it more time before we seriously discuss his Calder hopes, but before Tuesday’s game I thought it was a snowball’s chance in Hell. Today, not so sure he’s out of the race.
The kid is an absolute wizard. Everything he does is magic and we should file a class action lawsuit against the Flyers for recklessly breaking him and denying us joy for the last 3 months. All I’m saying is that my life was made materially worse and I deserve roughly 10 Million in damages.
Get it done, internet legal team.
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The Oilers sent down Luke Gazdic on waivers and he went unclaimed. As such he will be going down to the AHL.
I, for one, am still pro-fighting in hockey. If two willing combatants want to drop the mitts then I am all for it. However, I’m also pro-winning games and Luke Gazdic hasn’t helped the Oilers win games. He came back from shoulder surgery and was less physical than ever.
If you have a fighter who isn’t fighting then he should at least be mixing things up in other ways, but he was generally uninvolved in the play or the post-whistle scrums. The fact is that he was replaced by Kassian, who is significantly better as a player and as a pest. Everybody hates Kassian. Nobody hates Gazdic. I wish him all the best because he seems like a really nice guy, but he has to be more than “the guy who chips the puck off the glass” if he wants an NHL job.
I’m also hopeful that we can put a rest to the ridiculous fear that people have about losing players on waivers. If the player isn’t a serviceable defenseman on a short/cheap deal then he’s probably clearing waivers.
I know there were concerns because a lot of people believed you couldn’t slip a guy like Gazdic past 29 other teams on waivers. That, as it turns out, was crazy talk. Gazdic offered next to nothing in point production, couldn’t kill penalties, and wasn’t exactly a paragon of defense.
Fighters without any other dimension are a dying breed. Gazdic needs to find a way to add other aspects to his game. He has to stand out and THEN be a fighter. If he wonders what he can do, he needs not look any further than to Kassian. He doesn’t have to be scary. He just has to drive you crazy.
LINEUP
The Oilers placed Luke Gazdic on waivers which should pave the way for Davidson to be reactivated. Gazdic cleared waivers and is going to the AHL. Klefbom is still not skating with the team, meaning his return in the short term is doubtful. Schultz is apparently healthy as well so there are choices to be made on the defense. My guess is Reinhart and Clendening sit, but you never know.
1) Zoom Zoom. Oh Lordy that goal and game by McDavid had me giggling like an idiot for the last 2 days. I just watch it on repeat trying to make sense of it all, but it doesn’t ever fully compute. There’s too much happening to fully appreciate on a single viewing. Maybe too much even after triple and quadruple viewings. He is so aggressive in the way he attacks defenders. The genius of McDavid’s game is that he challenges everyone in his way to take the puck away from him and he knows they cant. This is Mario in his prime.
2) Talbot Rising. Talbot’s save percentage has climbed back up to .916 overall but he’s been playing generally fantastic since December. He had a very Oilery .897 sv% in October and an even worse November (.864 sv%). However, in December he supported a .934, in January he was at .932, and he kicked off February stopping 36 of 37 shots against. He’s tracking extremely well and the Oilers need all the stellar goaltending they can get. Even with players getting healthy on the blueline, it’s a weak group.
3) Karlsson. I think it goes without saying that the Senator circled in the Oiler dressing room is Erik Karlsson. He’s 4th in league scoring as a defenseman and in my view the best blueliner in the NHL. He almost has as many assists as the next highest scoring Senator has points total! That is absolutely incredible. Somehow almost just as incredibly, he plays the most minutes in the NHL on a per game basis. He’s averaging 28:55 a game for the Sens. That’s 23 minutes a night at Even Strength, another 4.5 on the PP and the rest is penalty killing. He’s a machine.
Puck drops tonight at 5:30PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet West. Game On!
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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