I'm sorry...what?Mini-slump now but that's to be expected after 16 straight wins.
Here's my problem with this game: McDavid, I thought, was great in all areas, but the other top-line guys on the ice were so bad defensively --- Nuge and Hyman. Connor was out there hitting guys in the D-zone, breaking up 2-on-1's, and the other two were lollygagging the whole night in their own zone (and, as usual, defensive zone faceoff losses by Nuge leading to goals). Nuge and Hyman need to bear down defensively a lot more.
The opening shift in period 1, and the opening shift in period 2, were complete disasters. Nuge and Hyman take a lot of the blame for that.
Were we watching the same game? McDavid hit Neighbors in the corner, wow great play? McDavid then immediately got beat by Neighbors out from behind the net, and is chasing Neighbor's while trying to reach him with his stick being almost two steps behind, Neighbors makes a play, St. Louis scores.
On multiple occasions McDavid was a floating spinning top, and was in picture doing nothing except for being out of position defensively the entire night. He made multiple bad plays that led directly to chaos and goals in the defensive zone. Go back and watch the first couple shifts where Hyman has to disrupt a player in the slot from behind on a one-time pass from the corner. McDavid, who appears to be "covering" the St. Louis player, last minute decided he's not going to because he's going to skate into the corner to try and be the third man support (this should of been his spot from the beginning, but instead he floated in the middle of the ice doing nothing). As he vacates the man in the dangerous scoring area, it is Hyman that identifies and makes a great last minute effort to disrupt the one-timer as the puck goes through McDavid as he's skating into the corner and away from the danger player he was sort of covering. This not commitment on proper positioning left his linemates in shit positions to cover anything, especially when McDavid then left his positions to chase and float.
Go watch McDavid attempt to kill the penalty on the fifth St. Louis goal. I guess it was McLeod 's fault that McDavid vacated the defensive position to force a puck from the blue line up the wall, which then was passed through the seem that McDavid opened for St.Louis by swinging high on the blue line, and then being in picture doing nothing on the rebound because he was to far away to collapse?
Did he throw 1 hit and back check on 1 two on one? Sure, but if you honestly believe he wasn't the reason his line was giving up goals this game then I have no idea what you were watching.