For the second goal of the Oilers’ 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, the NHL’s best offense converted another power play. Zero points for guessing the man who landed the main pass: Connor McDavid now has a 15-point lead over the next player in the league’s assist rankings, as well as a 12-point lead overall. By the way, the next two guys on this latest list are also Oilers.
With the score 1-0 in the second period and Oliver Bonk serving a two-minute interference penalty (OK, fine, interference), McDavid caught the defense’s attention by skating with the puck far to the left in the offensive zone. In doing so, he was able to give teammate Zach Hyman some personal space right in front of the court. This was the part he made easy: He took a quick pass through the middle of two alert Flyers and placed the puck in an awkward spot right at goaltender Dan Vladar’s knees. All Hyman had to do was push his stick in there to encourage the cookie to cross the line.
The Oilers ended up needing it, as a strong performance from Tristan Jarry in net ultimately gave way to a couple of Flyers goals that resulted in overtime. Never mind. Edmonton is able to start three-on-three with the same trio that sits atop the points standings – McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard – and while they weren’t invincible in overtime, it was no surprise that the winner came from this dominant group. It wasn’t the prettiest thing in the world, but it worked. McDavid’s center pass on the rush bounced off a Flyers stick and went straight to the man following Draisaitl. Leon pulled himself together, saw the lane open to Bouchard on the opposite side, and prepared the setup there for the final one-timer.
An important number to take away from this game is 20. That’s the number of games the Oilers have played so far, and it’s also the number of games in which Connor McDavid has scored a point. The season-opening streak record is Wayne Gretzky’s 51, so he still has a way to go, but McDavid is only the fourth different player to get this far, and the first since Dany Heatley in 2005-06.
Edmonton needed everything they could get from their captain, who is set to become a free agent in the summer of 2028. At a glance, they are doing well. With a record of 14-3-3, they have the second-best record in the NHL, behind the defending champions, the Hurricanes. Not to mention, of course, that they now have the three most productive players in the league.
But what else do the Oilers have? Nothing. This team has the depth of a griddle, and the fact that a few top players carry such a load makes me believe they’re ready for one of their patented winter scares, especially with a notorious tough guy like Mike Babcock as coach. When McDavid and Draisaitl are on the ice together at five-on-five, as is usually the case this year, the Oilers make 60 percent of the game’s shots and score 76 percent of their goals. When these two guys are disabled on the ice, those numbers drop to 39 percent of the game’s shots and 38 percent of his goals. The sample size is still small, but so far everyone on this team has the monster trio that is Ceveon McDraisard to thank for their success.
Especially with question marks still present at goaltending, the Oilers’ good mood could quickly turn to panic if their boosted engine starts to overheat. One could say that we shouldn’t worry about that now, that we should enjoy the victories as they come and worry about the problems if they arise. To be honest, they might be right! But it wouldn’t be very Edmonton of you to do so.
Gn sports
