A lull in McDavid's reign — is he off the pedestal?

[nturn06]

What a homer take. Mackinnon is the best right now.

If that would be the case, there would had been a thread about MacKinnon back to back pointless games earlier in the season... But nobody cared.

 

[Phil Kessels Hot Dog]

A single point game again.

Guarantee Mackinnon will put up at least two points next game, as has happened all season. Where’s the guy who said he would score 27 in 10 games?

The two best players in the league just got shutout by the worst team in the NHL.

 

[10YearsHaveGone]

Uh oh, MacK went pointless against the lowly Hawks. Couldn't even muster an ENP. Is he reign at the top over!?!?

 

[DeletedUser539]

McDavid as great as he his, his greatest attribute is his speed and ability to accelerate. I don’t think he will age gracefully if he starts to lose his speed. Now it’s nkt a guarantee that happens but it wouldn’t be surprising.

It's his skating and iq combo iq just gets more polished with age and with the approach to strength and conditioning these days players have more longevity if his speed does drop it won't be drastic and if it does he'll just become joe Thornton in his prime albeit a bit smaller but still your talking about him regressing into a 25 goal 60+assist type player

 

[Iggys Dome]

It's his skating and iq combo iq just gets more polished with age and with the approach to strength and conditioning these days players have more longevity if his speed does drop it won't be drastic and if it does he'll just become joe Thornton in his prime albeit a bit smaller but still your talking about him regressing into a 25 goal 60+assist type player

This is how I see it too. The thing that seperates McD is that his brain and hands can keep up with his acceleration, it was never a pure speed thing. He'll still flirt with ~80-100 points when his acceleration inevitably declines.

 

[blundluntman]

Maybe MacKinnon and Kucherov could have put up better numbers earlier in their careers but were focused on winning. Now McDavid apparently is focused on winning so his point totals aren't what they could be.



You think Crosby was playing at his normal play-style in 14/15?

Mackinnon's offensive production took off at the exact same time the Avs started winning, that's not what was going on at all. Not to mention, he's the last person to start focusing on individual awards after winning one cup, he's never content in that way.

He's producing at this level because he's finally healthy enough to play with a prime Makar and Rantanen all season long.

Him and Kucherov were producing close to the level of McDavid outside the Covid and 2023 seasons. Not much has really changed when all 3 are healthy

 

[Greatzsky 99]

If that would be the case, there would had been a thread about MacKinnon back to back pointless games earlier in the season... But nobody cared.

McKinnon has scored 1 goal in 10 games, 8 goal pace per season, will he ever get 2 digits again anymore?...

 

[jigglysquishy]

And with that McDavid is fourth in points, behind MacKinnon and Draisaitl and Marner

Strong likelihood that MacKinnon, Draisaitl, McDavid, and Kucherov will be the top four in points at season end.

 

[Video Nasty]

30 points in 15 career games against the Penguins with a period to go tonight (even with his 3 tonight, Crosby has 10 lol).

48 points in his last 27 games since returning from injury.

 

[Regal]

And with that McDavid is fourth in points, behind MacKinnon and Draisaitl and Marner

Strong likelihood that MacKinnon, Draisaitl, McDavid, and Kucherov will be the top four in points at season end.

Hopefully they all stay healthy and on top of their games. Should be a fun race

 

[Regal]

This is how I see it too. The thing that seperates McD is that his brain and hands can keep up with his acceleration, it was never a pure speed thing. He'll still flirt with ~80-100 points when his acceleration inevitably declines.

I remember back in his 3rd year where he had a significant ES production lead but didn’t score much on the PP (didn’t help the Oilers had a low number of PPs) there were some who suggested that his speed game didn’t translate on the PP which suggested his game wouldn’t age as well, and then a few years later, the Oilers become one of the best PPs of all time and McDavid puts up a 71 point season on the PP. While part of his PP dominance is that he’s a zone entry cheat code, he’s so smart and skilled beyond his skating that he’d probably still be a top 10 scorer with average speed.

 

[TheLegend27]

McDavid always does better in the second half of the season. Looking forward to a good laugh at this thread at the end of the season.