Defending McDavid
The Devils face an impossible task this evening in trying to defend Connor McDavid. He is in the midst of an historical start to the season with 30 assists and 39 points in just 15 games.
McDavid’s assist total alone of 30 is more than any other player in the league has compiled in points. He’s also riding a 15-game assist streak to start the season, a new NHL record.
So, what’s it like trying to defend against him?
“It’s not fun,” defenseman Brett Pesce said with a smile. “He's just obviously one of the best, if not the best, to ever play the game, so it's tough. He creates things out of nothing and he's kind of just in his own league. It's like he's too good for the NHL, which is crazy to say, but it's true. So, just like I said though, just trying to minimize giving him freebies, I think, is really the only thing you can do.”
“I haven't spent a lot of time watching the Oilers up until (Monday), but you can't help but to take notice of the pace that he's set,” Keefe said. “But power play, 5-on-5, he's just so dangerous and drives so much for their team, yet they're playing a very good team game around him, and that in itself, I'm sure sets up to benefit him even more. So just seeing it reach outrageous, I think is kind of where we're at here. But their team's not winning games just because of how he's playing. They're playing a very good team game, and obviously he's the exclamation point upon it all.”
One key to stopping McDavid and the Oilers is making them earn their chances. They will earn enough on their own, but the Devils need to make it difficult for them. And to do that, it’ll take a village.
“It's obviously a team effort, and it's a communal effort to defend him,” former McDavid teammate Connor Brown said. “It's not going to be one guy. We got a lot of good skaters on this team. We got to make it a hard night for him. We got to make it a difficult night. So, I mean, it's easy to get intimidated by a guy like that. And so, for us, we got to continue to do the things. If we're turning the puck over and we're giving him freebies and he's able to turn and burn, he's going to make you look bad. So, I'm sure he'll create his looks, I'm sure he'll create his chances, and so just limiting them.”
And as Pesce noted: "Every second matters."
He Said It
Brown on rejoining the top power-play unit: “I thought we had some success at the end of last year, so maybe kind of building off the power play success that we had there. But for me, I think popping in that bumper spot, just trying to help with the mentality of that group and creating second looks and checking the puck back and putting our work first, watching their kill. They kill hard. They come with a lot of pressure. So, to be able to steal pucks back and create second and third opportunities, I think is going to be big for this group to wear the penalty kill down.”
