Player Discussion McDavid

[GOilers88]

Haha your argument makes sense, but I've seen numerous examples where star players' production actually increases with lower ice time. Fatigue is a real factor, and more energy with less minutes can sometimes increase production. We'll see I guess.

Right after I posted that I did think of Kucherov and can't help but think I am mistaken now.

 

[McJadeddog]

Gregor was saying today he hasn’t scored a pp goal in 20 games. Drai hasn’t in 16.

Wow, that is something. McDrai without a PP goal in 16 games. You could have won a lot of money in vegas betting on that.

 

[BudBundy]

Gregor was saying today he hasn’t scored a pp goal in 20 games. Drai hasn’t in 16.

Maybe because everyone in the entire god damned building knows that the power play ALWAYS tries to pass the puck to Draisaitl for a one-timer at the RH face off dot and nobody else is allowed to shoot.

 

[McBooya42]

The Dave Tippett "timeout" injury recovery plan.
He does seem drained for whatever reason. Overused the first 20 games? Down in the dumps because it's obvious they will barely squeeze into playoffs let alone win a game there.

Or slow to recover from Covid?

 

[Duke74]

Maybe because everyone in the entire god damned building knows that the power play ALWAYS tries to pass the puck to Draisaitl for a one-timer at the RH face off dot and nobody else is allowed to shoot.

That's why I liked Bouch on the PP. I thought it gave the Oil another legitimate shooting threat, which I think they should have used more than they actually did. Oh well, back to the one-dimensional PP with Barrie coming back.

 

[MessierII]

That's why I liked Bouch on the PP. I thought it gave the Oil another legitimate shooting threat, which I think they should have used more than they actually did. Oh well, back to the one-dimensional PP with Barrie coming back.

Outside of the Calgary game Bouch hasn’t really got anything done honestly. I’m welcoming the shakeup at this point.

 

[NotAVacuumSalesman]

Still recovering from this shot block and Ekholm took a run at him in the neutral zone.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

McDavid is definitely taking more physical punishment this year. Teams are clogging the neutral zone and d-zone blue line to force McDavid outside and that seems to be leading to more contact. Hopefully one outcome of working the four line rotation will be fewer minutes for McDavid. He can skate forever but I think optimizing his minutes to 20-22 minutes per game will ensure high quality shifts in all zones on the ice. McDavid and Draisaitl's mindset is to attempt to go into beast mode and carry this team on their backs when they are losing. A function of rolling deeper, quality lines can hopefully better support this team's success without burning out its two elites physically and mentally who seem conditioned to try to do more when losing.

 

[BlackDogg]

He has to be hurt. He hasn't taken a good outside run down the ice in ages. The ones where he gets to 40kph.

 

[duul]

Still recovering from this shot block and Ekholm took a run at him in the neutral zone.

Something's probably broken.

 

[Czechboy]

I think it's a combo of 4 things

1. a lot of players have struggled coming back from Covid protocol
2. he plays way too much and is oversused.. he was play game 7 minutes in the first 20 games of the season
3. who are his wingers? Now it's Kane and Yam... wasn't it Hyman and Jp at the start of this? Everyday that man wakes up and sees new players on his line
4. Him and Kane don't have chemistry.. yet. Putting Kane on top line after 5 AHL games was silly.

And good point above, he may have been hurt a little by that shot... but that doesn't explain December 1st to now as the post was referring to.

 

[NotAVacuumSalesman]

I think it's a combo of 4 things

1. a lot of players have struggled coming back from Covid protocol
2. he plays way too much and is oversused.. he was play game 7 minutes in the first 20 games of the season
3. who are his wingers? Now it's Kane and Yam... wasn't it Hyman and Jp at the start of this? Everyday that man wakes up and sees new players on his line
4. Him and Kane don't have chemistry.. yet. Putting Kane on top line after 5 AHL games was silly.

And good point above, he may have been hurt a little by that shot... but that doesn't explain December 1st to now as the post was referring to.

No Nut November into Full Nut December.

All his energy went into his gf.

 

[Stoneman89]

For starters, he's stuck with Yamamoto on his line. Tough to get points when you have a black hole offensively on your line.

 

[walktheboulavard]

Still the coldest player highlight package in the NHL @488fitter

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

He is just the best. What a player.

 

[Captain Fantastic]

He is just the best. What a player.

Yup...he definitely looks like his normal self with his recent play. His face has been a magnet for high sticks lately. Lookin' ogre-like in appearance......

 

[LTIR]

27 pts in last 18GP.. 8 in last 4...
McD is back even with Kane missing out on tap ins from his passes

 

[walktheboulavard]

27 pts in last 18GP.. 8 in last 4...
McD is back even with Kane missing out on tap ins from his passes

Bro relax he missed the one when he came in as the trailer, the 2 on 1 was tipped. Kane hit on Drai's passes no problem. McDavid is the GOAT, but Kane is no chump.

 

[Rengorlex]

McDavid's had insanely depressed 5vs5 oish% this year. He "should" likely have about 15 extra points. All his advanced stats are basically at career high too.

I'm fairly confident he'll run away with the Ross and end up with 125-130 points to end the year. Hopefully he'll have a great playoff performance too, we should have the forward depth to support winning a series or two if the goaltending doesn't implode.

 

[xoczar99ox]

Maybe mad about the Olympics?

Actually his game pretty much fell apart around the time they announced they weren’t going if I remember correctly.

 

[GMofOilers]

We had way to many rookie D in the lineup, couldnt get the puck, was always chasing the puck, its really that simple.

 

[LTIR]

Bro relax he missed the one when he came in as the trailer, the 2 on 1 was tipped. Kane hit on Drai's passes no problem. McDavid is the GOAT, but Kane is no chump.

Bro Kane has missed 6 or 7 golden chances in the last couple games. It's alright though since we are winning and he got us a crucial goal vs DET.

 

[Oilers]

Bro Kane has missed 6 or 7 golden chances in the last couple games. It's alright though since we are winning and he got us a crucial goal vs DET.

I do like Kane's selfishness with the shoot first mentality. Too many guys on this team try to make the extra pass.

 

[Stoneman89]

Fair assessment. I still think if his minutes come down to reasonable numbers and they start rolling 4 lines consistently that his production is going to take quite a hit. I think the biggest factor in McDrai's obscene point totals is the fact that they get virtually all of the PP time every game, in OT, and play just as much as top pairing defensemen. With a more well rounded roster I think it's natural to see a dip there. I do think he's capable of leading the league don't get me wrong, but it partially comes at the expense of wonky icetime distribution.

Or I'm just talking out of my ass which is always a very real possibility.

I would have to respectfully disagree. While there may be games where a higher amount of ice time is needed (injury during the game, being down in the score), I really believe in the theory that sometimes "less is more". I think having McDrai fresh will actually allow them to be MORE productive while they are on the ice, rather than taking several shifts where they just skate around aimlessly, looking like they're trying to save energy. With Drai, it becomes much more obvious, since he is not a natural skating whiz like McDavid is, and then people accuse him of being lazy. They'll get their points, but they'll just get them in less time, but it will be quality and high end time. I think we're already starting to see some of the benefits of that, but some bad luck around the net with lack of finish by themselves and others they set up.

 

[Duke74]

I would have to respectfully disagree. While there may be games where a higher amount of ice time is needed (injury during the game, being down in the score), I really believe in the theory that sometimes "less is more". I think having McDrai fresh will actually allow them to be MORE productive while they are on the ice, rather than taking several shifts where they just skate around aimlessly, looking like they're trying to save energy. With Drai, it becomes much more obvious, since he is not a natural skating whiz like McDavid is, and then people accuse him of being lazy. They'll get their points, but they'll just get them in less time, but it will be quality and high end time. I think we're already starting to see some of the benefits of that, but some bad luck around the net with lack of finish by themselves and others they set up.

You make some great points in your post. I completely agree with the "less is more" theory because a fresh player is much more effective than one that's played 28 minutes heading into overtime. And the "lazy" label attached to Draisaitl results from a combination of things, including his lack of energy after playing an obscene amount of minutes and his offensive "cheating" that results from the Oilers always chasing the game. If those two things become rectified, I think he can be decent defensively, not a Selke winner but definitely respectable. McDavid too, especially with his speed.

Speaking of McDavid, I like how he's starting to become more selfish, shooting on 2-on-1s a lot more than he did in the past, which is resulting in an uptick in goals. McDavid has a great shot, and, if used more often instead of overpassing, I think one year he could win a Rocket. It also keeps the defense honest and opens up more opportunities for that deadly cross-seam pass.