It’s been another tough year for Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. The team that was so full of promise at the beginning of last year is once again on the outside of playoffs looking in.
Saying that, McDavid continues to roll.
The star player is up to 96 points on the season, good for third on the points leaderboard, but it doesn’t seem to be enough to carry the Oilers into the post-season. On Saturday, Connor McDavid was at the centre of it all once again when the Oilers almost completed what would have been a hugely dramatic comeback against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Down 3-0 with less than two minutes to go, Edmonton managed to pot two goals with still 53 seconds to spare. If it wasn’t enough for McDavid to assist on both of those goals, he also was sprung for what could have been the game-tying goal, but he was stopped trying to go five-hole on Freddy Andersen.
Playing against another Canadian franchise that seems to be going the opposite direction, McDavid gave some high praise to the Leafs squad that had just pushed his fading playoffs hopes a little further away.
Lots of people have felt the quickness of Toronto’s youth, but hearing it from one of the best players in the league was a little extra special for the Leafs. Following McDavid’s comments, Nazem Kadri – who had just returned from injury – commented on what it meant.
The Leafs are hoping to carry momentum into the playoffs as they likely will square off against one of their biggest modern rivals in the Boston Bruins. McDavid, on the other hand, will hope that a new front office in Edmonton will help bring the organization back to winning ways.
Once they’re there, McDavid may well be unstoppable.
(H/T Ryan Rishaug)
