Edmonton Oilers, McDavid Crush Jackets 5-1

Edmonton Oilers fans will remember that game for a generation.

Connor McDavid made a triumph return to Rexall Place, Tuesday night, in a dominating performance, made all that much more remarkable by the staggering fact that it was his first game back after a 3-month layoff, due to a broken collarbone. His goal (which we’ll talk about more in a second) and 2 assists paced the attack in a convincing 5-1 win over Columbus. Special players do things like McDavid did tonight. I consider myself fortunate to have been there to see it in person.

9 Things…and 3 guesses which is #1.

9. Zack Kassian brings an element to this Edmonton Oilers squad that no one else on the roster can equal. That was the noisiest 8:22 an Oiler has played in some time. He had 5 hits (several “rafter-shakers”), 2 shots, and assist, and was a general pain-in-the-ass for Columbus all night.

8. Edmonton Oilers like Mark Letestu, Matt Hendricks, Lauri Korpikoski and Iiro Pakarinen were relegated to 3rd and 4th line duties, tonight, and excelled. I thought Pakarinen was particularly effective. Funny what happens when 3rd/4th liners aren’t asked to punch above their weight class.

7. Eric Gryba was 2nd Star. While he did score his 1st goal in seventy-zillion games, it wasn’t for that reason. When Taylor Hall was run into the boards (should have been an interference call), Gryba, to the delight of the Rexall fans, took over and “cracked some heads”. Been a while since we’ve seen that down at the ‘ol rink.

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6. When Oscar Klefbom and Brandon Davidson are back in the lineup, the score of this game may look the same, but the shot clock will not. While some of the final tally (37-35 Blue Jackets) was absolutely due to score effect, fact is this D-core just got by tonight, against a not-very-good NHL team. Hurry back, boys.

5. I was pleasantly surprised with Adam Clendening in 14:52 of TOI, his first game with the Edmonton Oilers. He had 3 shots, was 50% Corsi (paired with Griffin Reinhart, who was “o.k.”), positioned himself well, moved the puck adequately and was a better skater than I had expected. Justin Schultz should be concerned.

4. The TOI stats were all over the place tonight, as the Edmonton Oilers (again) spent far too much time short-handed. Sure, the PK was excellent, but…when you are short-handed for 10 minutes a game, those are minutes that Connor McDavid (16:43), Taylor Hall (13:33) and Leon Draisaitl (12:55) are NOT on the ice.

3. Cam Talbot should not have had to be as good as he was tonight. Named the game’s 3rd Star, Talbot stopped 36 of 37, and the one he did allow was the result of a 2-on-1 that he had no real chance on. But when Columbus threatened when the game was still 2-1, Talbot slammed the door shut. That’s what good goalies do.

2. Leon Draisaitl, Taylor Hall and Teddy Purcell were very good tonight, but they were still the Edmonton Oilers 2nd Line. Let that sink in, for a moment. This team, with these top two lines going the way they were Tuesday night, will be awfully hard to defend against. And Draisaitl, who scored a goal because of some hard work by Taylor Hall, could pass a puck in a phone booth. Man, he’s good.

1. I have attended over 500 NHL games. Not as many as some, to be sure, but still…I think you would agree that is a a good sample size. I am not sure I have ever seen a performance the likes of which young Connor McDavid put on Tuesday night at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. On his 1st shift, he turned Ryan Murray (a player so many fans thought should have been a member of the Edmonton Oilers) inside-out, drawing a penalty. On the ensuing Power Play, the Edmonton Oilers absolutely and emphatically dominated the Jackets, mostly with #97 on the ice, and did all but score. Then, at the half-way point of the 2nd period, Connor McDavid took a neat head-man pass from new line-mate Jordan Eberle, and proceeded to thread his way through 2 defenders and down-right-stone the Columbus goaltender on a move that we’ll be seeing on hi-light reels for a long time, for the eventual winner. What a play. What a goal. What a thrilling, electrifying, sublime and sobering talent this kid is. Wow. Just…wow. I was gob-smacked (look THAT up!).

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Can the Edmonton Oilers make a playoff run? With 31 games left to play, the good guys are 8 points out in the Pacific. That is daunting. And if I had not been sitting in Rexall Place tonight, I think I would have had to have said “No, I don’t think so”.

But after what I’ve witnessed, tonight? I’m really not sure there’s much that Connor McDavid can’t do.

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