And now we have a series....
Connor McDavid did Connor McDavid things, so the Stanley Cup Final will go at least six games.
Well, well. A Stanley Cup Final that seemed destined to become a rout has turned into a nailbiter, thanks to Connor McDavid’s determination to carry the Oilers on his sturdy back.
After being held without a goal and limited to three assists in the Edmonton Oilers’ first three games against the Florida Panthers—all losses—McDavid demonstrated great leadership under stifling pressure and has twice made sure the Oilers fended off elimination. With the hallowed Cup in the house in Edmonton last Saturday in case the Panthers completed their sweep, he collected a goal and three assists to force a Game 5. Afterward, he said the Oilers’ mission was clear.
“We’ve got to go to Florida and do a job and drag them back to Alberta,” he said of the Oilers’ home province.
Let the dragging begin.
Facing elimination again on Tuesday, this time in Sunrise, Fla., with the Cup once more in the house, McDavid sliced through the Panthers’ defense in a two-goal, two-assist effort and a season-saving 5-3 victory. The Oilers, who are only the fourth team in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to force a Game 6 after losing the first three games of the Cup Final and the first to do that by winning a Game 5 on the road, can pull even if they win Friday at Rogers Place.
According to the NHL, McDavid is the only player who has recorded back-to-back four-point games in 106 championship series. And those eight points represent the most points when facing elimination in the Cup Final in league history.
Things are suddenly getting interesting, eh?
McDavid ran his postseason scoring totals to a staggering eight goals and 42 points in 23 games, the fourth-most points in a playoff year. The only players who have scored more? Wayne Gretzky, with 47 for the Oilers in 1984-85, and 43 in 1987-88, and Mario Lemieux, who scored 44 for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1990-91. That’s pretty good company.
McDavid had already broken the single-postseason playoff record for assists and extended that record to 34 with two helpers on Tuesday. His round-by round breakdown: one goal and 11 assists in five games against the Kings; one goal and eight assists in seven games against Vancouver; three goals and seven assists in the six-game West final against Dallas, and (so far) three goals and eight assists in five games against Florida.
McDavid’s setup Tuesday on a second-period power play by Corey Perry (playing in his fifth Stanley Cup Final, 17 years after he won with the Ducks in 2007) was one for the highlight reel. And the ages. These are generational performances by an athlete who has elevated himself well above his would-be peers,
“Connor McDavid’s play on the Corey Perry goal was a special play, especially in a huge moment. He showed us the way tonight—the way he was playing, the way he was winning battles and his determination to not be denied—and we followed him,” Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said in a blog on the league’s website, nhl.com
“Knowing that the fans are ready to celebrate a Cup I think gives us an extra boost, knowing that if we lose that game, they’re going to raise that thing. We wanted to do everything in our power to stop that. The boys did a great job. We just battled from minute one to minute 60.”
The Panthers’ physicality, a key factor early in the series, was missing. You can’t hit what you can’t catch, and the Oilers weren’t about to let themselves get caught on Tuesday. Florida’s emotional leader, Matthew Tkachuk, who had been held to one assist in the first four games, upped his level on Tuesday and produced a goal and an assist, but that still wasn’t enough. The Panthers have converted one of 16 power plays in the Cup Final and were 0 for seven in their two losses.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice, always quotable and to the point, said he and his players weren’t feeling deflated after a second straight missed opportunity to lift the Cup. “A little grumpy,” he said in summing up their feelings.
They could become a lot grumpier if the Oilers continue the offensive spree that allowed them to outscore the Panthers 13-4 in Games 4 and 5. That total included a shorthanded goal to open each of those games. Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who allowed only four goals on 86 shots in the first three games of the Final ( a .953 save percentage), allowed nine on 39 shots in Games 4 and 5 (.769). Those goals weren’t his fault alone, but the Oilers have scored at key times the past two games.
Remember, too, that the Oilers have made their comeback without getting a goal from Leon Draisaitl in the Final. If he begins to assert himself, a Game 7 next Monday in Florida is a good possibility.
The Panthers, of course, are holding onto whatever positives they can find, mainly the fact that they’re still up 3-2. “We’ve just got to win one game,” Florida forward Sam Bennett said in a story on nhl.com. “It’s as simple as that.”
But it doesn’t seem so simple anymore.
McDavid has grown up. He’s no longer the wunderkind. He has shown he’s capable of carrying a team on his back. But he must prove he can handle that potentially treacherous last step on the road to becoming a champion. That’s the stride that defines careers.