Edmonton Oilers Win 4-2, Lose Connor McDavid
By Kurt Leavins
The Edmonton Oilers put it all together, Tuesday night, in a win over Philadelphia by a score that seriously flattered the Flyers. But all of the good that the Oilers gained from this win will be over-shadowed, to some extent, by the “long-term” injury suffered by Connor McDavid.
9 Things:
9. Although the Edmonton Oilers soundly out-played the Flyers from buzzer to buzzer, the game stayed close (on the scoreboard, anyway) right up until the end. As such, Anders Nilsson played a key role in the win. When any goaltender faces just 2 shots in the 1st Period, it is difficult to stay sharp, but he did. Unspectacular but solid.
8. With Connor McDavid out (we’ll get to that, trust me), the fact that Jordan Eberle is really close to coming back is a god-send. As big of a loss as McDavid sure is, keep in mind…the Edmonton Oilers have played the first 13 games without their leading scorer, 3 of the last 5 years. We could see him Friday.
7. That is two very good performances back-to-back for the favorite whipping boy of Edmonton Oilers fans. You don’t have to like Teddy Purcell’s game to admit he’s been effective lately, especially against the Flyers. His Corsi was a stunning 84% (team best). I thought I could see a much firmer look of determination on his face.
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6. I’ll get to Leon Draisaitl in a minute, but Darnell Nurse continues to make a strong case for staying in Edmonton. He has two tools in his own zone which only Oscar Klefbom has perhaps match, on this club: Speed and Strength. Add on “hockey sense” and you have a lot of the ingredients for getting out of your own zone on a consistent basis. If Nurse keeps playing like this, no one is going to take his place in the lineup. Ever.
5. The Edmonton Oilers defence was pretty good, over-all, tonight. You certainly won’t be taking any of those 6 out of the lineup against Pittsburgh on Friday, they all played that well. Oscar Klefbom had the most noticeably strong game, whereas you barely noticed Griffin Reinhart at all. But all that means is that Reinhart played his game. It was also easily Andrej Sekera‘s best showing of the year.
4. I keep hearing people say “How in the world will the Edmonton Oilers send Leon Draisaitl down to Bakersfield, when he’s playing like this”, as if it’s a bad thing. Hello??? Your blue-chip prospect is shooting the lights out at the NHL level, night after night. He isn’t going anywhere…except MAYBE center, as a replacement for McDavid on the 2nd lines. 2 assists Tuesday, 7 points in 3 games.
3. Matt Hendricks. With all due respect to the other 2 men who played with him Tuesday night, Matt Hendricks was the reason the Edmonton Oilers had a 3rd line tonight, and a very effective one at that. The goal was nice, but the withering physical beating he laid on the Flyers all night long clearly picked up his teammates. Well deserved 2nd Star Selection. What a gamer.
2. Taylor Hall. I take a substantial amount of glee in shoving spectacular performances like this one by Taylor Hall firmly down the throats of all the Hall haters out there. Hall pushed the river all night long, combining a nearly-impossible-to-handle speed with a real doggedness that makes #4 deadly dangerous. A goal, 2 assists, a Corsi of 36-17 (!!), and named the games 1st Star. Oh yeah…and he is now 3rd in NHL scoring. The best player on the ice. Yea…he’s really not very good.
1. Connor McDavid. We don’t know much. The official line is “upper body injury”, and that he is “out long term”, after slamming into the end boards. As soon as he stood up, I could tell from where I was sitting in Rexall Place that it was his left shoulder area. The tell is how you try and cradle the arm to take the pressure (and pain) off the point of injury. Be in and around enough hockey games over the years, and that becomes easy to spot.
Just how long he will be likely won’t be answered until he has an MRI. It could be a collarbone (sure looked that way to me), a separation (my 2nd guess), a dislocation (would have been in much more pain), to a severe strain or tear (didn’t look like either). I would guess that he would be out at least as long as Jordan Eberle with his shoulder, which has been 5 weeks, but likely closer to 6-8 weeks. There should have been a holding call on the play, as Brandon Manning yanked him off his feet by his pants. But it was a “hockey play”, and not something warranting suspension.
Disappointing? Of course, and more for him than for us. But he wasn’t the first NHL player to get injured, and won’t be the last. His teammates will just have to pick up the slack for him…kind of like they did against the Flyers tonight.
Sidney Crosby and the Penguins at Rexall Friday.