McArdle was used to being the "main guy" so to speak in Moose Jaw. When he was traded to Vancouver he wasn't the go to guy and needless to say, he struggled a bit. He was trying to do too much and his feet were moving faster than his brain. A lot of times he would overskate the puck or try and be too fancy and end up losing the puck. Once he settled down and started to drive to the net he was much more effective.
That being said McArdle has really stepped it up as of late. He's been good since the last few weeks of the regular season actually. Even when he wasn't scoring the guy was working his ass off never taking a shift off. I wouldn't write the guy off just yet.