It took until 13 minutes left in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final for Connor McDavid to score his first goal of the series, and it was after he and the Edmonton Oilers fell behind 3-0 to the Florida Panthers, on the way to losing and getting pushed to the brink.
Before that, he led all scorers with six assists, and only teammate Leon Draisaitl has more points than McDavid’s seven.
Of course, the best hockey player in the world is in the spotlight no matter what he does, and he hasn’t been able to break out and put the Oilers on his back thanks in large part to Selke Trophy winner Aleksander Barkov and the Panthers keying in on him defensively and slowing him down at all costs.
Coach Kris Knoblauch thinks it has been a bit of an unfortunate final for McDavid given the amount of scoring chances that just haven’t gone in.
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“I think Connor’s been one of our best players every single night, and that’s what we expect,” Knoblauch said Sunday.
“I’ve got no issues with his game. Obviously, our team relies heavily on him and Leon and how they’re playing, but I think that it’s tight checking for everyone and it’s not going to be a mid-season game against a non-playoff team when sometimes he’s had 10 or 12 scoring chances. Those numbers are obviously reduced playing against a good team like Florida.”
The Panthers have defended McDavid and Draisaitl “reasonably well,” according to coach Paul Maurice, who acknowledged two of the NHL’s most talented forwards are bound to get their opportunities.
Barkov’s line, with Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart, has been tasked with playing against McDavid, perhaps to the detriment of offence. That’s the job, so Reinhart was noticeably upset to give up that late goal Saturday night.
“I’m upset every time they get a goal,” Reinhart told reporters in Edmonton.
“It’s a team effort defending guys like that. We’ve known all series the challenge is there for us. No one really cares in our locker room who’s producing each night. It’s just a matter that someone is at the right times. And that’s what we’ve had.”
McDavid led all scorers through three rounds playing with Zach Hyman on his right wing. Hyman’s right wrist was dislocated with ligaments torn on a hit late in the Western Conference final, and left winger Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was bothered by an undisclosed injury during a stretch against Florida.
Loading up by putting McDavid and Draisaitl on the ice together — the so-called “nuclear option” — has not been used as often because Hyman isn’t around.
“With the absence of Zach Hyman, it makes it more difficult putting those two together because of the depth of our lineup,” Knoblauch said. “With what we have right now, to run those two together for long periods of time makes it more difficult for our depth on our team.”
That puts even more pressure on McDavid in Game 6 on Tuesday night to keep the series going, as the Panthers again focus on preventing him from doing anything of the sort.
