Look at the standings and you might not believe it: the Edmonton Oilers have quietly crept into the top three of the Pacific Division. After a rough start, they have gone 6-3-1 over their last ten games and are finally starting to look like the team we have seen in recent seasons. The supporting cast has contributed – Matt Savoie and Vasily Podkolzin join in, Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard strengthen the defense – but ultimately there is one player who really carries the load.
After a slow start, Connor McDavid is producing exactly as the best player in the world should. Tuesday’s match against his old friend and ex-Oilers goalkeeper Stuart Skinner was a case in point. He burned Skinner and the Pittsburgh Penguins with two goals and two assists. After falling behind, he made a giant leap and came within two points of Nathan McKinnon at the top of the NHL scoring race. McKinnon has 58 points and McDavid 56.
This is no coincidence: He is on a seven-game, nine-goal, 20-point streak, and is on a pace of 135 points this season, second only to his career-high of 153. So why is McDavid carrying Edmonton on his back? Three reasons stand out:
McDavid creates chances like no one else
It’s not just about the goals with McDavid. The man makes plays you wouldn’t even think about. Shows guys around, opens up lanes, sets up his friends. Take him off the ice and Edmonton is very normal.
The Oilers sometimes struggle to match the speed of other top teams in the Western Conference, but when McDavid gets going, the pace changes. His skating and vision push everyone forward. Over the last ten games, Edmonton has looked faster and sharper… and a lot of them? Yep, that’s McDavid running the show. Even if he starts slowly, McDavid has a track record of stepping up midseason and carrying the team. No teammate comes close to this consistency.
What are the Oilers’ playoff chances?
Figures such as a series of seven games with nine goals and twenty points do not come about by chance. This is the problem with McDavid. Oilers fans have become accustomed to these slow stars and poor finishes. He carries the team halfway through the season. There’s no one else on the Oilers who can do that night after night. If he keeps this up, Edmonton won’t be an easy feat in the Pacific. Bring back a few bodies like Roslovic or Kapanen and things start to look familiar again. Slow start, everyone doubts it, McDavid drags them back in: same story, different season.
Related: Analysts look back on Oilers’ Brock Boeser miss with regret
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