McDavid in charge as Oilers bounce back
Canucks goalie Demko sees lots of action; teams split two-game Rogers Place set
Speed kills. We know this.
Connor McDavid didn't score in Wednesday's season opener, but he more than made up for that Thursday as he led his Edmonton Oilers to a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place in Edmonton, nearly a reversal of Wednesday's result.
Unlike Wednesday's 5-3 Canucks win, where the visitors were clearly the better team by the end of the night, Thursday's Oilers win was very much about McDavid's superstar status.
The Canucks on the whole played well and when McDavid wasn't on the ice, the Oilers really weren't up to much. That's a familiar story for McDavid's squad, of course, and you do find yourself thinking how he deserves to be on a truly dominant team, not just one he has to carry on his shoulders many nights.
On this night, he was flying, finding space for himself all over the ice. The Oilers got a hat trick from McDavid and a pair from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The Canucks' goals were scored by Nate Schmidt and Tyler Motte.
Here's what we learned ...
STAR POWER
In all the debate of Elias Pettersson versus McDavid, there's just no forgetting what an incredible offensive force McDavid is.
The Oilers' captain had a hat trick on the night, tallying all three goals in just over 15 minutes of action.
He scored his first goal with 0.5 seconds left in the first period, then picked up a pair of goals in the second period.
PRESSURE, PRESSURE
The Oilers' power play was lethal in 2019-20 and, given the personnel hasn't changed, there was little reason to think it would look any different in 2020-21.
On the night's first power play, they attacked hard and they attacked fast, eventually breaking down the Canucks' PK as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins potted his first of the year against his hometown team, whacking in a loose puck after Leon Draisaitl's shot had smacked the post. McDavid's second marker also came on a power play.
His constant crossovers create all kinds of space for himself. He did just that rushing in on a second-period power play to find his second tally of the game.
And on his hat trick goal, he found open space behind Quinn Hughes to put himself in an untouchable shooting position in front of Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko.
The Canucks finished the night 0-for-5 on the power play.
IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS
If Demko chucks the puck to the corner after making the save with 2.5 seconds left to play in the first period instead of freezing it, McDavid's first goal never happens.
To paraphrase the 2004 play The History Boys, history is just one thing after another.
IT'S NOT EXHIBITION HOCKEY, BUT …
Brandon Sutter admitted pregame that it did take some time getting used to the fact that these games aren't just for warm-up. They count, even if the overall rhythm of these games still seems off.
This non-exhibition situation the NHL finds itself in is a weird time.
But there's no doubt both Schmidt and Motte were happy to open their accounts on the season.
Both goals came in the second period: Schmidt's was a low slapshot that found its way between the legs of Oilers goalie Mikko Koskinen, while Motte tipped home a slap-pass from his newest teammate Travis Hamonic.
“Sometimes a good screen, the goalie can't see it,” a pleased Schmidt told Sportsnet during the second intermission.
TWO EARLY STOPS
McDavid and his winger Zack Kassian both had great chances in close in the first minute, but Demko showed off his patented flexibility to turn their shots aside. Goalies say they like early action and that bang-bang sequence was the best example of this.
Remember Demko's finish to the summer? Of course you do.
There's a reason why Canucks management have so much faith in Demko's ability to be one of their solutions in goal for a long time to come.
The Oilers fired 46 shots on goal on the night, a throwback total to the shooting gallery Demko faced against the Vegas Golden Knights in the three games of their Stanley Cup playoff series last August. (For their part, the Canucks fired 40 shots at Koskinen.)
But no goalie likes to yield five goals on a night, even if most of the goals were about outstanding efforts from the opposition more than anything else.
HUGHES YOU LIKE IT
Three assists in two games feels ho-hum from Quinn Hughes.
But him coming to the defence of Brock Boeser after a hit in the second period showed an edgy side of him we've not seen much of.
He's not the biggest guy, but there's no one out there thinking he's a little guy who can't handle rugged hockey — especially after the heavy checking he endured last summer in the playoffs.
GET USED TO IT
It was the same four officials for the second night in a row.
With the schedule set up as a series of two- and three-game sets in an effort to cohort its players to a degree, the NHL is also keeping its officials with the same group of players.