I was never going to bet against him doing it, but Connor McDavid has finally taken over the lead in the NHL’s scoring race. He now sits all alone at number 1 with 96 points in 75 games.
McDavid’s 38-58-96 places him on the verge of 40 goals and 100 points. They are arbitrary numbers but 100 points has always been the bar for offensive excellence in the NHL, even when scoring dipped and the league went from having close to 10 players a season reach that mark to having sometimes none at all. Crossing the 40 goal mark makes you a premier goal scorer. 50 goals makes you legendary in this era. McDavid will have to try to cross that bridge in the future.
I’m not revealing any big secrets that the key to McDavid’s success has been his sublime skating and puck skills. He’s not just fast, but he can handle the puck in full flight lie nobody can. What that means for his is that he can attack from different angles and with less space than anyone else in the league. He is uniquely dangerous in a way that breaks all the training defensemen have received their whole lives.
That danger translates more 5v5 where the game is more back and forth than it does 5v4 where the coaching staff has a lot of influence and the chance to build speed is reduced greatly. That said, Edmonton’s PP is so brutal that even McDavid has 11 fewer PP points than he did a year ago and roughly half what the closest players in the scoring have picked up. In a season where Edmonton’s PP isn’t hot garbage, he is probably 10-15 points clear of everyone and already well into the 100’s.
During 5v5 play, McDavid is heads and tails the most dangerous player in the NHL. McDavid is not just the point leader 5v5 by a wide margin, he is also the league’s leading goal scorer. He has 28 5v5 goals this year, which is 2 more than Kucherov AND Ovechkin. It’s something people should keep in mind when they say that he’s not a goal-scorer – he’s already better at it than everyone else when it is most difficult to do. In total 5v5 points, McDavid is at 65 while Kucherov is at 56. With so few games left in the season it would be near impossible for anyone to catch him there.
This was floating around Twitter last night, I believe it was Jeff Veillette who pointed it out, over the last two seasons Connor McDavid has picked up 148 even strength points. The next highest player is Patrick Kane with 116. He’s also tied for the lead in even strength goal scoring with Auston Matthews at 59 goals. Basically, there’s nobody close to him when it comes to total offense at even strength. He’s a Game Genie.
As far as this race goes, Kuckerov would need to really increase his scoring pace to re-take the lead. The Lightning and the Oilers each have 7 games remaining. Here are the points per game paces of the two players since January 1st:
35GP Kucherov 1.11 P/G 36GP McDavid 1.42 P/G
If we go from February 1st, it’s actually like this:
23GP Kucherov 1.35 P/G 26GP McDavid 1.62 P/G
Both players are pushing extremely hard, but McDavid’s output is still well ahead of the competition. Nobody in the NHL has scored more than McDavid since February and since RNH and Rattie have become his linemates, McDavid has gone Supernova. Anything can happen, but McDavid is motivated to win this scoring title and is near impossible to stop.
LINEUP
Will Sekera play in back to back games?
RNH McDavid Rattie Caggiula Draisaitl Aberg Lucic Strome Puljujarvi Pakarinen Strome Slepyshev
Nurse Larsson Russell Benning Sekera Bear
Montoya
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) A Whole New Aberg. Pontus Aberg was scratched after missing a practice because had partied too hard the night before (or so the story goes). In his first 8 games with Edmonton he had 2 points and was largely invisible. He looked like a throw away player and nobody was questioning why he couldn’t translate his AHL offense into the NHL. Since he was given the chance to come back into he lineup he has played three games and has picked up 6 points. He has as many points as an Oiler in 11 games as he did with the Predators in 37 games. Which Pontus Aberg is the real one? He is getting a chance, probably when he didn’t deserve it, and he is suddenly productive. Could he and Rattie prove to be cheap contributors next season too?
2) Leon Still Here. With all eyes on Connor McDavid it is easy to forget about Draisaitl. Transitioning away from Connor McDavid’s winger to driving your own line isn’t easy. He can be an uneven player at times, but his usage has been uneven. Still, he has 66 points in 71 games in a season where he has battled post-concussion issues and he has just 8 PP points. He has always played big games against the Ducks and I think he will use this game to remind everyone that he’s still lurking.
3) Desperate Ducks. The Ducks are holding onto that 3rd spot in the Pacific by a fingernail. They are tied with the Kings at 89 points but hold the tie breakers the battle of California will go down to the wire and Edmonton can create maximum havoc by winning in regulation tonight. Anaheim is dealing with some injured fowl. Eaves, Bieksa, and Manson are all on the IR and Getzlaf is dealing with the Flu (which means others on the team are at risk as well). Edmonton might have played last night but McDavid is riding his own wave of wild energy and the team has won 3 in a row. The Oilers are a dangerous team right now and it’s the Ducks who need to play a good game.
Puck drops tonight at 7:30 PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet West. Game On! Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy