VANCOUVER – As you ponder how the Vancouver Canucks hope to contain the best player in hockey on Saturday night at Rogers Arena, consider this for a moment: the Canucks have never beaten a Connor McDavid-led Edmonton Oilers team in regulation time. In nine National Hockey League meetings, the Oilers have won seven times and suffered a pair of shootout losses. McDavid has four goals and 11 points -- including three-game winners and a pair of power play goals – and has been held off the scoresheet just once. And in only four of those contests has the wonder boy played logged more than 20 minutes of ice-time. It’s almost as if McDavid has taken it easy on the Canucks to this point in his career.
Wednesday in Calgary, McDavid put his vast array of other-worldly talents on display for all to see scoring all three Edmonton goals in a 3-0 win over Calgary. The hat trick was impressive, but it was his seven shots, his nine attempts and his ridiculous speed that had the hockey world buzzing. The Canucks, of course, were taking notice from a distance as they try to game-plan a way to stop the 20-year-old superstar.
Last Saturday, in the final preseason contest for both clubs, new Canucks coach Travis Green did his best to hard match Brandon Sutter (and minor league linemates Darren Archibald and Jayson Megna) against McDavid. It had the expected results with Sutter and his line conceding two-thirds of all even strength shot attempts while they were on the ice. In Saturday’s season opener, don’t be surprised to see Sutter draw the most-challenging assignment in the sport once again. This time, however, look for the Canucks top defensive pairing of Alex Edler and Chris Tanev to join in the effort to keep McDavid in check. Edler played the preseason finale while Tanev was a healthy scratch.
Even though he wasn’t on the ice last weekend, Tanev has already seen enough of McDavid in his first two seasons to know how much of a handful he is.
“He’s the fastest in the league for sure,” Tanev tells TSN 1040. “If you’re flat-footed and you’re sitting there and he’s flying at you at 100 miles an hour, it makes your job pretty tough. That’s why all five guys need to be on the same page in our neutral zone forecheck when they have the puck. It’s a combination of us as defencemen and the centres trying to slow him down.”
If it was just McDavid on his own, the task would be difficult certainly, but likely more manageable. However, he’s now surrounded with a supporting cast that requires plenty of attention, too. Last weekend, linemate Leon Draisaitl scored both Edmonton goals against the Canucks – the first one set up deftly by McDavid.
In the nine career head to head meetings between the Canucks and Oilers with McDavid in uniform, Edmonton has outscored Vancouver 27-12. The surprise there might be that the Oilers haven’t generated more offense against struggling Canucks teams the past two seasons, but the 12-goal output for Vancouver indicates the Canucks likely haven’t had the puck much in those games.
That will be a challenge on Saturday with the Oilers fresh of their season opening victory while many of the Canucks have barely played since returning from China two weeks ago. For Tanev and company, getting up to game speed in a hurry will surely be a challenge. It’ll be that much tougher against McDavid who seems to get faster on a nightly basis.
“He likes to swing back and get moving and pick up speed, so forwards can help by slowing him down and not making that pass to him so easy,” he explains. “But all five guys have to know when they’re out there against him”
Alex Edler agrees that on-ice awareness is a key. Although with the buzz of the crowd every time McDavid hopes over the boards, it’s not difficult to tell when he’s on the ice. Knowing he’s out there is one thing, though, recognizing where he is on the ice is another altogether.
And Edler says because McDavid covers so much ground in such a short span of time, split second decisions can be disastrous if you gamble for a loose puck thinking you can get to it before he does. Incorrect reads against a player like McDavid can – and so often do -- turn into disasters for defenders.
“He’s so quick and he’s as fast with the puck as he is without it,” Edler says. “He’s so shifty, obviously, so playing against a guy like that you have to try to keep a good gap and attempt to take his away his time before he gets his speed up. There’s no question it’s a challenge.”
It’s the toughest assignment in hockey these days and it comes at the Canucks on opening night. Will they be up to the challenge of stopping Connor McDavid? Is anyone truly up to that challenge? We won’t have to wait long now to find out.