Tonight we finally get the showdown everybody has been waiting for the past year. Sidney Crosby will finally line up against Connor McDavid. For my money these are the best two players in the NHL today and tonight marks the first time they will have played against one another. Sidney Crosby has been the best player in the NHL for mostly all of his career to this point. Everything about what Connor McDavid has done so far points to him being the player who takes that title from Sidney Crosby.
So far Connor McDavid has played in 58 games in his NHL career. The total is lower than it should be due to a collar bone injury his rookie season. Here is how both Crosby and McDavid stack up against one another in the first 58 games of their career
1st 58 NHL games:
— Jack Michaels (@EdmontonJack) November 8, 2016
Crosby 28-37-65
McDavid 21-41-62
Crosby & McDavid rank 2nd & 3rd in pts/game (1st-P. Kane) since McDavid entered NHL.
Both players were remarkably good through 58 games. Sidney Crosby has the edge but we need some context with his numbers. The 2005-06 season was awesome. The league actually called penalties. Scoring was way up and there is an argument that Sidney Crosby had it easier than Connor McDavid does now. Crosby scored a lot on the power play that season and he also had a lot of opportunity. For this reason, I decided to look into even-strength production.
The problem with trying to do this is the fact the NHL did not do a great job of documenting statistics in 2005-06 on a game by game basis. The best thing I could do to try and figure out Sidney Crosby’s 5v5 ice time was to go to NHL.com and find his season long average. On average Sidney Crosby played 13:49 of 5v5 time each game. I took that average and applied to the first 58 games of his rookie season where he had 33 5v5 points. Here is how it looks compared to McDavid’s first 58 games
Considering my margin for error in calculating Crosby's rate we are really splitting hairs here. Both players were unreal through 58 games.
There is no arguing against the fact that Connor McDavid is tracking towards being the superstar in the National Hockey League. Sid still has the title but it probably won’t be for much longer. Don’t think that is lost on Crosby. Tonight will be must see TV when Crosby is on the ice. Sid always rises to the occasion on the big stage. It doesn’t always come in the form of points, but he’s going to be doing all the things that make him the greatest player in the league. Tonight is one of the best individual matchups on the calendar. Enjoy it.
I joked about Crosby vs McDavid being the showdown everybody was looking forward to today, but there is an election tie-in with this matchup
Gretzky vs. Lemieux first meeting was Nov 6th, 1984. Election night. Reagan won 2nd term.
— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) November 8, 2016
Crosby vs. McDavid 1st meeting tomorrow. Election.
Pretty cool coincidence.
It’s been a tough election cycle given the two major candidates but there is one option I think most hockey fans can get behind.
Get out and vote tm you don't want the wrong person elected! #pk2017 pic.twitter.com/XV4R1LyJYJ
— Phil Kessel (@PKessel81) November 8, 2016
On this Election Day there is only one clear choice. #ImWithPhil #MakeAmericaSkateAgain pic.twitter.com/DXGnvMX1Of
— #HockeyFightsCancer (@NHL) November 8, 2016
Coach on Kessel’s presidential push: “I’m not sure if he’s thought through his domestic or foreign policies [laughs]."
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 8, 2016
Mike Sullivan on Phil Kessel's presidential hopes: pic.twitter.com/dWZqCahyAm
— Sam Werner (@SWernerPG) November 8, 2016
#Kessel2020
Thanks for reading!