Where are McDavid and Draisaitl when it matters?

[Dough72]

maybe things were a bit too easy for him in the regular season and he got used to playing a certain way. Every player has to adjust a bit for the playoffs maybe he's just taking longer because he had such an epic regular season.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

The Caps were loaded offensively though, you couldn't just play the Caps and throw your entire defence at stopping Ovechkin. The Jets are playing a full on trap and basically their offence has gone to crap in the process too but they're eeking by with just enough.

If the Oilers actually had a 2nd line they would be up 2-0 in the series, but given they don't Maurice is 100% doing the right thing for Winnipeg, throwing everything at the McDavid line and turning the series into a full on grind.

Maybe Tippett should actually split up McDavid and Draisaitl then. Edmonton is creating its own problem by insisting on playing those two together. One of the reasons for the Pens' success was Crosby and Malkin on separate lines. Opposing teams couldn't just focus all their attention on shutting down one line.

And before anyone says "Edmonton doesn't have the wingers to do that", yes they do. Crosby and Malkin won the Cup with wingers like Talbot, Fedotenko, Kunitz, 40 year old Guerin, Sheary, etc. Guys like RNH, Yamamot, Puljujarvi, Kahun, Archibald, etc. aren't worse than that.

 

[LuGBuG]

They are tired from dragging around that sorry roster all season. Are people actually surprised the Oilers still suck?

 

[IndustryLeech]

Ghosts, especially McDavid.

 

[DrewGl]

Marino did make it to the Superbowl and his offense put up a ton of points. My favorite QB of all time even though I am a Steelers fan. I really don't see the comparison with the sports. In football you are not playing both offense and defense like in hockey. Marino could put up 40 points and still lose because his team gave up 41 points.

Marino was a much better talent than Brady but didn't have the team around him. I think that part is the same with McDavid. Kind of like the Pens when Mario started in the league. If Mario had Gretzky's team when he first came in the league he probably hits 250 points. When the Pens finally built a team around Mario he already had a debilitating back injury and couldn't even lace his own skates before games. He still helped lead them to 2 Cups but was a shell of his late 80's self. Mario with that bad back and a day after missing a quarter of the season because of cancer treatments he still had 160 points in only 60 games. Imagine what a healthy Mario would of done with those teammates. Mario had 199 points playing on a line with Rob Brown who was a career minor league player in his prime years and Bob Errey who was more like a 3rd line player. As in all sports it matters who you are surrounded by. That 80's Oilers team was an all-star team. Unfortunately for McDavid he is more in the Mario situation to start his career. Hopefully he stays healthy and can still be able to be at his best if and when the Oilers surround him with a good team.

Point being you can be a great player and not win it all due to your team.

 

[sepHF]

If he had terrible stats in those play-in rounds I'm sure people would include those games.

yea people will interpret things different to fit their agenda.

I'm an Oilers fan who has literally never criticized McDavid before today. But something needs to be said, I'm sorry. I don't care what his stats in the playins against the Blackhawks were to be honest. Everyone was coming off a huge break, no fans for the first time in their hockey careers, playing a team that had no business even being in "the playoffs". His point totals against the Hawks don't do much for me when i'm looking at his playoff performances as a whole.

 

[Crossfire Hurricane]

I don't know what lack of depth has to do with it. He plays on a line with last year's MVP and with a guy who's gotten Norris buzz this year. It has never been a secret that to beat the Oilers, you shut down McDavid, he should be used to being shadowed and for teams to game plan for him. He's hooked and held all the time.

Losing half a point per game in the playoffs over the course of his career is way too much to explain away with things that were also true in the regular season, especially now that he's in his prime.

 

[daver]

You do know that teams are more than one or two players right?

What's your point? Why shouldn't we hold McDavid to the same standard as the other great players who produced regardless of the quality of their team.

He either can produce at an elite level in all circumstances or he can't.

 

[Beau Knows]

yea people will interpret things different to fit their agenda.

I'm an Oilers fan who has literally never criticized McDavid before today. But something needs to be said, I'm sorry. I don't care what his stats in the playins against the Blackhawks were to be honest. Everyone was coming off a huge break, no fans for the first time in their hockey careers, playing a team that had no business even being in "the playoffs". His point totals against the Hawks don't do much for me when i'm looking at his playoff performances as a whole.

Fair enough.

Personally, I just don't think he's really played enough playoff games at this point to be super critical of his stats. It's a small sample size and I think players do sometimes need to learn how to play in the playoffs, so it's not that shocking that he's struggling a little bit. So I wouldn't call him a "choker" at this point as the OP asked.

 

[DowJones]

Thornton 2.0 and Thornton 2.1? Way way way too early, but so far it doesnt look good.

 

[Sugi21]

maybe things were a bit too easy for him in the regular season and he got used to playing a certain way. Every player has to adjust a bit for the playoffs maybe he's just taking longer because he had such an epic regular season.

That’s why I said he’s still giving a regular season effort when he needs to put it in playoff gear and so far he can’t find that playoff gear in fact he looks overwhelmed the way the Jets are hounding him and not giving him any time or space

 

[dwkdnvr]

maybe things were a bit too easy for him in the regular season and he got used to playing a certain way. Every player has to adjust a bit for the playoffs maybe he's just taking longer because he had such an epic regular season.

I really think McDavid and maybe Drai should go back and look at the careers of Sakic and Yzerman more closely. Both of those guys entered the league as smaller faster skill players, but learned how to round out their games and become among the great playoff performers - in Yzerman's case in particular it was a dramatic shift under Bowman. When the game tightens up and open ice becomes a scarce commodity, you have to learn how to push yourself and contribute in other ways until you manage to generate those chances. It really seems that these guys still have to figure out how to add that dimension. I think too often people focus on the 'physical' aspect of playoff games and miss the 'intensity' aspect. Maybe ROR is another good example - he beats you primarily by working his ass off every shift, and there is no reason we shouldn't expect the same level of effort from any star.

 

[Sugi21]

What's your point? Why shouldn't we hold McDavid to the same standard as the other great players who produced regardless of the quality of their team.

He either can produce at an elite level in all circumstances or he can't.

Exactly! regardless if you have a crap team or not that shouldn’t reflect the effort and drive you play with he should be given’er 110% from first whistle to last! If he needs a stacked team in order to giver then he shouldn’t be captain look at Big Mac he goes into beast mode once playoffs start and he would be the same way with any team I think 97 needs to pull up his big boy socks and get his hands dirty

 

[Andon]

They are tired from dragging around that sorry roster all season. Are people actually surprised the Oilers still suck?

McDrai could have taken last 10-15 games off (and still make playoffs) if that would be an issue...

 

[Perfect_Drug]

Unfortunately this post season, this is a very valid criticism.

McDrai are not bringing nearly enough.

 

[Sugi21]

Unfortunately this post season, this is a very valid criticism.

McDrai are not bringing nearly enough.

Exactly your best players have to lead in the playoffs and so far McDrai haven’t been getting it done! People are blaming depth when the big guns have been quiet as well! Oilers have had great goaltending so far McDrai and company have to figure out how to put the puck in the net since Smith is holding down the fort

 

[Eternal Leaf]

Also for hockey fans, y’all sure forget that 66% of the game McDavid is on the bench and not much he can do.

try blaming all the average at best players who get put in better positions to succeed when teams focus all their energy on Drai and McDavid.

I think it's important to understand the tag McDavid is given.

The depth excuse is okay for the average franchise player. Generational players are held to a much higher standard where they should be lights out against their matchup on the ice and not just through advanced stats.

McDavid was essentially a no-show in the first game and semi-decent in the second for spurts.

The criticism he's getting is deserved right now. I'm a huge fan but this is pretty bad.

 

[McShogun99]

Mcdavid has looked off the past 2 games. Getting stripped of the puck easy, bad passes, missing the net. He’s not getting any space and is making bad decisions when the Jets go to hit him. I don’t know if it’s nerves/pressure or if he’s playing injured but he doesn’t seem like himself.

 

[William H Bonney]

The depth conversation is irrelevant. It's a valid consideration as to why the Oilers as a team underperform, but it's not an excuse for why players with the pedigrees of McDavid and Draisatl have been no-shows so far.

 

[bobholly39]

Point being you can be a great player and not win it all due to your team.

Of course.

Karlsson 2017. Forsberg 2002. If we do 2 rounds - Ovechkin 2009, Crosby 2018, MacKinnon last year, etc etc. It's a team game - you can't win on your own, even if you put forth an extraordinary performance.

But you can also be a great player with huge expectations who absolutely doesn't deliver. So far this playoffs - that's the category McDavid is in.

 

[rocketdan9]

McDavid and Drai will dodge a bullet.... fans are not allowed

Jets arena is chaos

 

[Mats13]

Maybe Tippett should actually split up McDavid and Draisaitl then. Edmonton is creating its own problem by insisting on playing those two together. One of the reasons for the Pens' success was Crosby and Malkin on separate lines. Opposing teams couldn't just focus all their attention on shutting down one line.

And before anyone says "Edmonton doesn't have the wingers to do that", yes they do. Crosby and Malkin won the Cup with wingers like Talbot, Fedotenko, Kunitz, 40 year old Guerin, Sheary, etc. Guys like RNH, Yamamot, Puljujarvi, Kahun, Archibald, etc. aren't worse than that.

Draisatl is no where near as good as Malkin was back then.

I think people forget that when he was on Malkin looked more dominant than Crosby and Ovechkin.

That’s Edmonton’s problem. They think they have the next Crosby and Malkin. It looks like they have the next Crosby but they definitely don’t have the next Malkin.

 

[Raym11]

McDavid too (Matthews too).

how does Matthews get roped into this especially over a post related to abusing powerplay points? Matthews does everything but get PP pts

 

[rocketdan9]

Draisatl is no where near as good as Malkin was back then.

I think people forget that when he was on Malkin looked more dominant than Crosby and Ovechkin.

That’s Edmonton’s problem. They think they have the next Crosby and Malkin. It looks like they have the next Crosby but they definitely don’t have the next Malkin.

They may excel under different vet leadership

I always thought they gave Mcdavid the C too early

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Stanley Cups are not won by depth. They’re won by star players who actually perform. The Oilers are perfectly capable of winning a Cup IF McDavid and Draisaitl perform.

Lol no they're f***ing not.

This team has putrid depth, and the only reason they were winning in the regular season (key words: regular season) was because McDavid and Draisatl did all the scoring.