Oilers: Connor McDavid truly did have a one of a kind season
By Jim Lynch
The Edmonton Oilers start their run for the Stanley Cup in just a few days. Let’s talk about Connor McDavid’s regular-season one more time.
McDavid put up 105 points in 56 games. Wow is that great? McDavid was just 7 points away from netting an average of two points per game. The Oilers captain truly is in a league of his own and at just 24 years old is showing no signs of slowing down.
The Oilers are lucky to have Connor McDavid on their team. There were just 11 games this past season where McDavid did not register at least a point. McDavid is an essential piece of this team and those 11 games that he did not register a point show it. The team only won two of those 11 games.
McDavid’s point total actually set a new NHL record, it was pretty close though. The total amount of goals that McDavid impacted for the Oilers compared to how many goals they scores is pretty amazing. Daniel Nugent-Bowman explained it best in a tweet a few days ago.
It came down to the tiniest of margins, but Connor McDavid has established a new NHL record.
— Daniel Nugent-Bowman (@DNBsports) May 15, 2021
McDavid recorded 105 points on 183 EDM goals -- 57.38%.
The previous record was held by Mario Lemieux during the 1988-89 season. Lemieux had a point on 57.35% of PIT's goals.
A league of his own:
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McDavid truly is in a league of his own with the next best point total belonging to some guy named Leon Draisaitl of the Oilers. Draisatl had an impressive season as well putting up 84 points. The Oilers can score goals, but the playoffs are about more than that.
The Oilers have a pretty solid top six and obviously, McDavid is not going to be stopped that easily. However while he does have the regular-season success, the playoffs are a different monster.
Doesn’t mean anything now:
Connor McDavid has not proven himself in the playoffs yet. While number 97 has had a lot of success in the NHL, he hasn’t been able to take his playoff numbers to the next level and carry his team in the postseason. In fact, he has only been to the playoffs twice, once in 2016-17 where he put up 9 points in 13 games, and once last season when he put up 9 points in four games and still lost to the Blackhawks.
The playoffs are when stars have to rise to the occasion. This team is probably the best McDavid has been on thus far, and a first-round exit is not on the table. Putting up 105 points is awesome, but if it is paired with just four or five playoff games that end with an exit against Winnipeg it doesn’t mean as much anymore.