I know McDavid playing more isn't the cause of the loses. I never said that. My point was, that the way the ice-time is split, it has that effect. McDavid scores more in games he plays under 21 minutes, McDavid scores less in games he plays over 21 minutes. He also tends to win more when he plays less than 21 minutes, and lose more when he plays over 21 minutes.You have your logic of cause and effect backwards. I think you've manage to confuse yourself with all your different narratives and tangents that you've gone off on in this thread.
So do you think McDavid taking one less shift a game, is a significant reason for him scoring more in those games. I do not. I personally think its due to the fact he scores more in those games, causing his team to win, which leads to him playing less. When trailing, he is playing more, due to the coach trying to chase the game at all costs, especially is, when its a close game.
This applies to almost all elite scorers. I don't get why that is a tough concept to grasp. It isn't even a shot or trying to belittle McDavid. It is something that holds true across all elite scorers. Especially ones that play on winning teams.
So, if you are trying to make an argument against TOI affecting total points to split it like that is pointless. You would need to split it into 4 different categories to try to somewhat eliminate score-effects.