Our best players were our best players
Last season, Winnipeg shut down our best players way too much for comfort.
This year, our best players were most definitely our best players.
Connor McDavid currently leads the entire NHL in points in the playoffs, with 14 in seven games – perhaps to the surprise of no one. Leon Draisaitl and Evander Kane are also in the top 10 – tied with a handful of guys with nine points in seven games.
Last season even McDavid got shut down a bit. I think the Edmonton Oilers learned a lesson from the Jets last year, though, because this season they adopted the Jet’s physical style that they applied to shut us down last season.
Take a look at these boxcars as proof:
Connor McDavid – 4-10-14 in 7 games
Evander Kane – 7-2-9 in 7 games (this led the Oilers in goal scoring)
Leon Draisaitl – 5-4-9 in 7 games
Cody Ceci – 1-5-6 in 7 games (whoa…..for a stay at home guy…..)
Ryan Nuget-Hopkins- 2-3-5 in 7 games
Evan Bouchard – 0-5-5 in 7 games (1st playoffs!)
Zach Hyman – 2-2-4 in 7 games
Tyson Barrie – 1-2-3 in 7 games
Kailer Yamamoto – 1-2-3 in 7 games
Darnell Nurse – 1-1-2 in 6 games
The only guy who disappointed a bit was Jesse Puljujarvi who only had 1-1-2 in 7 games and that certainly wasn’t for lack of trying from what I saw. He’s only got 11 playoff games to his name, including the seven we just finished playing, so I suspect he’ll get better the more playoff hockey he plays.