Connor McDavid is a wonder to behold. At full flight, he remains the most breathtaking player in the NHL. He played more than 27 minutes in the game against the Islanders. And at the tail end of that game, when the Oilers needed him most and it appeared they might fall victim to some solid goaltending, McDavid went supernova.
When he wants something, there is very little an NHL player on the other side can do to stop him. It’s really going to be dumb luck that stops him from creating or finishing a chance. He’s more skilled than the other players. He can do things at speeds that essentially allows him to ignore the opposition. When other players take on a 1v3 situation, they are taking one player taking on 3 others at the same time. When McDavid goes into that same 1v3 situation he is typically moving so fast that he’s eliminated the players who are out of arm’s length from him. It isn’t really 1v3 at all.
McDavid is 6 points back of Kucherov in the scoring race and he’s carrying around Lucic’s corpse around the ice. While McDavid has 36 games in 28 games since the calendar switched over, Lucic has been largely useless. Milan has 6 points over that same time-span and that’s WHILE Todd McLellan has had him playing with McDavid on the top line and on the top PP unit.
It’s hard to imagine that McDavid can legitimately hope to beat Kucherov this season while carrying a 250 pound weight strapped to his ankle. Playing Lucic with McDavid “to get him going… is really a frustration to watch. And it’s no wonder that McDavid wants to play with Draisaitl, he needs someone who might conceivably help him create offensively. McDavid’s head coach is doing him no favors as he tries to take down another scoring title.
The two players, Lucic & McDavid, have never gelled. It’s an obvious mismatch of style and ability. Lucic is at a point in his career where he cannot keep up with the best players in the game. He is a half-step behind the play, and not just when the game is played at high-speed. When the puck is on his stick, this year more than any other, it’s more likely to find its way to an opposing player than to a teammate or the back of the net.
At 29 years of age, Lucic is at a point in his career where he needs to work twice as hard just to maintain his impact and abilities. For a big man used to controlling the game with his physical style, there’s likely going to be a big change needed for him get that half-step back. The decline that everyone predicted is in real danger of being more cliff than gentle hill.
Lucic is a drowning man and he’s trying to grab onto anything he can. I have no idea why McLellan want’s McDavid in arm’s reach of that.
LINES
Lucic McDavid Draisaitl Cammalleri RNH Aberg Puljujarvi Strome Slepyshev Caggiula Khaira Kassian
Klefbom Russell Nurse Larsson Sekera Bear
Talbot
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Not Staaling. If there is one player I wasn’t expecting to have a career resurgence in his mid-thirties it was Eric Staal. It’s not that Staal was ever a poor player, but I hold some ill-will to the former Hurricane for obvious reasons and he hasn’t exactly been a major point producer in years. Now, at 33, he’s a point per game player with 37 goals in 68 games. It’s unreal how he’s managed to turn back the clock on his career. He’s the most dangerous Wild player by a mile.
2) Depth. With Connor McDavid you never question his ability to score. With the rest of the team? Well…maybe there are a few questions. It cannot be all McDavid. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th lines have to contribute. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has 4 goals on either wing…combined. Aberg has 2 goals this season and so does Cammalleri. Adding some scoring this equation might be an issue. Key players for Edmonton’s depth will be RNH, Khaira, Puljujarvi, and Klefbom. 3) Rolling. The Wild are cruising along to the tune of a 8-2-0 record in their last 10. They’ve won 3 in row, but the Wild have some pretty inconsistent issues. For one, their record is insanely driven by their dominance at home. They are 24-5-6 at home but 15-17-1 on the road. It’s a pretty incredible split. The Wild have incredibly poor shot attempt metrics 5v5, but they have a solid Power Play and a mid-range PK. Those special teams are helping the Wild step on the necks and outperform their 5v5 issues.
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