Post-Game Talk: 60!

[Jimmi McJenkins]

McDavid is 12 goals ahead of the next leading goal scorer (Pasta), and 38 points ahead the next leading non-teammate in points (Kucherov).

Putting that into perspective, the following players have 38 points on the season:
Lucas Raymond
Conor Garland
Jack Roslovic
Andrew Copp
Oliver Bjorkstrand
Scott Laughton
Mark Stone
Mikael Granlund

Jeez.

Doing all-time stuff this year. What a player.

 

[Nostradumbass]

McDavid is 12 goals ahead of the next leading goal scorer (Pasta), and 38 points ahead the next leading non-teammate in points (Kucherov).

Putting that into perspective, the following players have 38 points on the season:
Lucas Raymond
Conor Garland
Jack Roslovic
Andrew Copp
Oliver Bjorkstrand
Scott Laughton
Mark Stone
Mikael Granlund

Jeez.

He has 1 less goal than Lindholm has points. He has more points than Kadri + Huberdeau combined and is 2 points short of Matthews + Tavares.

 

[Cournoyer12]

McDavid is hockey’s answer to the great Bob Gibson. Honery, Dissatisfied and above all absolutely MAGNIFICENT!! Drai ain’t bad neither, super fun team to watch. These guys make being a Habs fan livable! Pulling for the Oil in the playoffs!!!

 

[AM]

How does that tie into him having some underlying psychological issue, as you've suggested? You've made that weird connection out of thin air.

I think I was clear I’m talking about the behaviour. The internal part is a worry about him, not with respect to his job as a hockey player.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Love it

 

[harpoon]

This was the TNT feed on the McDavid OT goal. Hell of a call.

TNT does a pretty decent job imo. I choose to watch them when I have the option.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

you really do have to love Draisaitl making both those plays to get MCDavid a shot at 60 after he himself challenged him to do it a year before.

You have no choice.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

It's been a while since the killer schedule, should have had plenty of time to recover, so that's not an excuse. And we're chasing 2 teams for the division title and the coveted home ice advantage so incentive is definitely there to bring it. If it was just one game that we struggled, but with the last 3, it's concerning.

I think Skinner has been fine, but the amount of 5 bell chances and brain farts are starting to creep into our game again after a solid performance against Dallas. Those need to be cleaned up or it won't matter who's in net.

There's a lot of positives for the Oil playing tight games and winning with B games against bottom opposition. Rather see them in these competitive situations versus blowing up empty calorie teams. However the poor own zone stuff gets exploited against better teams who bury mistakes and a far better, structured veteran goal suppression team like LA won't necessarily cave like the bottom feeders. LA in particular has been light's out since the trade deadline with the addition of a veteran goaltender who's shown ability to steal games and playoff series.

Notable stats and trends since the NHL trade deadline: Any concern for Leafs?

It's been about three weeks since the trade deadline, and it's about three more weeks until the end of the regular season. That makes it a perfect time to look at how teams have been faring since the March 3 deadline.

www.sportsnet.ca

"The Los Angeles Kings come in at the No. 2 team save percentage since the 2023 trade deadline, which is a marked improvement on the rest of their season.

The Kings hit the trade deadline ranked 30th in team save percentage at 5-on-5 with an .899. Only San Jose and Vancouver were worse. They acquired Joonas Korpisalo from Columbus (along with Vladislav Gavrikov), and while he certainly has had a positive impact, Phoenix Copley has also stepped up his game and, in fact, has the better numbers since March 3."

GOALIE	W-L-OTL	GAA	SV%
Joonas Korpisalo	3-0-1	1.96	.921
Pheonix Copley	3-0-1	1.47	.940

Winning with B game is good. But passive backtrack and energy level with poor own zone decision making won't cut it against elite competition. Some big fish coming up on the schedule that they've been trying to chase down. These will be good benchmark games for the impending Second Season.

 

[alanschu]

I think I was clear I’m talking about the behaviour. The internal part is a worry about him, not with respect to his job as a hockey player.

I wouldn't overthink it too much.

I remember Jordan blowing a dunk in a playoff game explicitly because he was *pissed* at some of the stuff Knicks were doing and he was angry at the moment.

Ultimately McDavid's stick didn't break. I'm sure he's probably aware of the possibility that it could have. I'm sure if it did he's keen enough to recognize that it'd not have been ideal. I'm sure he's probably even though "damn, good thing I didn't break my stick."

The biggest thing I can get from this is (similar to Jordan) is he is hyper competitive and as much as he is keen enough in interviews to downplay and be deferential, he wants to be seen as a great player. Plus he also wants the W and was frustrated with himself that he missed an open net after undressing the goalie.

No it's not the best way of dealing with it. But I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[AM]

I wouldn't overthink it too much.

I remember Jordan blowing a dunk in a playoff game explicitly because he was *pissed* at some of the stuff Knicks were doing and he was angry at the moment.

Ultimately McDavid's stick didn't break. I'm sure he's probably aware of the possibility that it could have. I'm sure if it did he's keen enough to recognize that it'd not have been ideal. I'm sure he's probably even though "damn, good thing I didn't break my stick."

The biggest thing I can get from this is (similar to Jordan) is he is hyper competitive and as much as he is keen enough in interviews to downplay and be deferential, he wants to be seen as a great player. Plus he also wants the W and was frustrated with himself that he missed an open net after undressing the goalie.

No it's not the best way of dealing with it. But I wouldn't worry about it.

Whenever work goes poorly for my kids they tend to smoke a stogie. I don’t think they should do that either.

 

[Delicious Pancakes]

He was in a no win situation. That goal is entirely on Nurse and the forwards not backtracking fast enough.

His back is to the guy he's trying to cover and if he rushes over to take the guy with the puck it's getting moved to the open man with Skinner deep in his net. He tried instead to delay and react to the pass or force Hayton to try to score in tight but unfortunately he had enough time to just wait for Keller to skate himself open and go cross crease.

View attachment 674465


Skinner was actually pretty useless on that attempt as well. Probably could have anticipated that pass better.

I don't disagree that Nurse made a bad read and chased there, but Ceci was still too passive there and then bailed on protecting against the pass and gave Skinner no chance. Sometimes you need to be more aggressive even on a 2 on 1 down low, and that was one of those situations. He could've blocked the way to the front of the net and the passing lane with leg and stick down and forced Hayton to try to make a move around him towards the bottom of the circle, allowing a bit more time and space for his teammates to help him out and also making Skinner's job easier because Hayton's options were more limited. Hayton's other option would have been to go around the net and that also would have bought more time and made it easier for Skinner. Ceci also could've just taken the body or tried a poke check which were both higher risk but also better options than what he did.

Instead he tried to protect against the pass until Hayton stepped out front and then he bailed and opened the passing lane for Keller to have the easy back door tap in. If you're going to try to block the pass then stick with it and leave Skinner with the shooter. Because in the end he didn't prevent anything. And yes I understand you have to make a quick read there but be confident in your choice either way. Have confidence in your goalie if you're going to block the passing lane. Anyways, my point is just because Nurse f***ed up doesn't mean Ceci didn't have better options for how to play that. Hopefully Ceci learns from that situation and plays it better down the road. Same goes for Nurse. He vacated his position and left Ceci in a vulnerable position where a 2 on 1 down low was possible and sure enough that's what happened. Can't make those risky plays in the playoffs.

 

[alanschu]

Whenever work goes poorly for my kids they tend to smoke a stogie. I don’t think they should do that either.

I'd argue McDavid's reaction is probably less serious...

He's competitive, got frustrated at missing a chance to win the game and get his 60th, but still did so seconds later.

 

[harpoon]

I'd argue McDavid's reaction is probably less serious...

He's competitive, got frustrated at missing a chance to win the game and get his 60th, but still did so seconds later.

Exactly. He banged his stick on the boards. So what. Seeing people criticize him for this, and even suggest he was ‘trying’ to break his stick, is beyond weird.

 

[Ritchie Valens]

Arizona would be mental to trade Bedard for Matthews unless they got Matthews ++++.

The value of having a player like Bedard at 18 and on an ELC vs. Matthews at 26 on a $13M+ deal is massive.

The only thing would be Matthews being the hometown boy and their owners wanting that.

Do I see Arizona doing that trade though? No. They'd be stupid to trade Bedard in my opinion.

 

[T-Funk]

If McDavid's stick broke, nothing would happen. Or it could have. We'll never know because we are now biased by the magic of hindsight. Best player in the world is passionate and we saw it? He should have laughed it off and went to the bench and wrote in his diary I guess.

 

[KMart27]

People want athletes to show emotion when they score a goal or hit a home run or so on. Show any emotion when something goes wrong and it needs to be called out. Can't win.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

I watched Draisaitls pass like 5 ot 6 times ---i know the 1st one was pretty pretty prettyy good but I dont even understand the second one. The other player must have f***ed up chipping and even then---i dont understand how drai had a stick in position to even make the pass.

 

[Victor000]

McDavid's super power must extent to what even he holds. I seen stick break for far less.

Also nice that McDavid 1 up Matthews and got his 60 in 1 less game.

I totally believe he went into the game with the goal of 1 upping Mathews. It's his way of getting revenge against all those reporters who gave Mathews the Hart last year.

 

[Fourier]

Love it

He was choked at not scoring the first time. I actually think part of that was because he realized what an all-world pass he got from Draisaitl. After that there was no way he was not scoring the second tome.

 

[Oilers in NS]

McDavid and Draisaitl are all world and superstars but the player I am most proud of this year is RNH. 88 points and he is the best 2 way forward we have on this team. I'd be most excited out of all the individual accolades if he can get 100.

Another player I’d like to recognize is Foegele. Probably not much chance he will score on a breakaway but I have been liking his game the past few months

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

He was choked at not scoring the first time. I actually think part of that was because he realized what an all-world pass he got from Draisaitl. After that there was no way he was not scoring the second tome.

Yeah, that first pass was as good as any I've ever seen. Those 2 are just magic.

 

[Faelko]

Kind of wonder what the 3rd Coyote was doing On the OT goal…

 

[dssource]

Congrats to Connor on reaching 60 and my goodness Draisaitl and his vision and passing in this one. Also really liked that the yotes gave full effort and made it difficult so our boys had to play a hard 60 minutes.

 

[MoontoScott]

Another player I’d like to recognize is Foegele. Probably not much chance he will score on a breakaway but I have been liking his game the past few months

He has really come on in the 2nd half of the season and is fully deserving of a spot on the team.

WRT to Mc-D with 60 goals---win or lose in the playoffs, its a treat to watch the best hockey player on the planet play for your hockey team. I have been able to say that for both Gretz and Mc-D---such magic---and unlike so many jerks in pro sports these 2 guys are real gentlemen.

 

[Drivesaitl]

There's a lot of positives for the Oil playing tight games and winning with B games against bottom opposition. Rather see them in these competitive situations versus blowing up empty calorie teams. However the poor own zone stuff gets exploited against better teams who bury mistakes and a far better, structured veteran goal suppression team like LA won't necessarily cave like the bottom feeders. LA in particular has been light's out since the trade deadline with the addition of a veteran goaltender who's shown ability to steal games and playoff series.

Notable stats and trends since the NHL trade deadline: Any concern for Leafs?

It's been about three weeks since the trade deadline, and it's about three more weeks until the end of the regular season. That makes it a perfect time to look at how teams have been faring since the March 3 deadline.

www.sportsnet.ca

"The Los Angeles Kings come in at the No. 2 team save percentage since the 2023 trade deadline, which is a marked improvement on the rest of their season.

The Kings hit the trade deadline ranked 30th in team save percentage at 5-on-5 with an .899. Only San Jose and Vancouver were worse. They acquired Joonas Korpisalo from Columbus (along with Vladislav Gavrikov), and while he certainly has had a positive impact, Phoenix Copley has also stepped up his game and, in fact, has the better numbers since March 3."

GOALIE	W-L-OTL	GAA	SV%
Joonas Korpisalo	3-0-1	1.96	.921
Pheonix Copley	3-0-1	1.47	.940

Winning with B game is good. But passive backtrack and energy level with poor own zone decision making won't cut it against elite competition. Some big fish coming up on the schedule that they've been trying to chase down. These will be good benchmark games for the impending Second Season.

Couple things missed is that the Kings record with Copley and Korpisalo is incredibly good. 22-4-3 with Copley in net. Quick and Petersen were sinking the Kings, almost always, until they were gone. The steadying of Byfield with Kopitar and Kempe has been huge for the club. They outscore like crazy. Rarely scored against. Gavrikov has been steady. Kings also added a tough guy if they need it. Worth noting that in the Kings 8-2 drubbing of Calgary they didn't even have Fiala, their leading scorer. The game was in doubt for maybe 5mins. Kings just took control as they do. They're skating teams into the ice.

In anycase the way I look at it is the Oilers are a good team, best they've had since O5-06 and the the two division opponents, wherever they place, are solid. No easy clubs like Calgary in the mix but this also to the Oilers benefit as the Flames and Doughtyless Kings didn't prepare the Oil well for the Avalanche last season. Good to get tested to get sharp. The division being stronger this season, at least 3 of the clubs, its a benefit of sorts.