McDavid, Oilers need to 'start going' in Game 3 at Ducks

EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid is not only fighting the puck more than usual through the first two games of the Western Conference First Round between the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks, the puck is actually winning.

The star forward does not have a point and is minus-2 in the best-of-7 series, which is tied 1-1 heading into Game 3 at Honda Center in Anaheim on Friday (10 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, Victory+, truTV, TNT, KCOP-13, SN, TVAS, CBC).

"Absolutely," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said following a 6-4 loss in Game 2 on Wednesday. "I think he's putting a lot of pressure on himself. He wants the team to do well. He's a leader and usually when we have success, he's a big part of that.

"There's stretches during the season that he hasn't been the best player. There's nights where he hasn't been outstanding. That doesn't happen very often and I'm certain that he's going to find his game."

McDavid won his sixth Art Ross Trophy as the League's scoring champion with 138 points (48 goals, 90 assists) in 82 games, so he didn't have a lot of off nights during the season. He had at least one point in each of Edmonton's 41 regular-season wins. The 4-3 victory in Game 1 on Monday was the first time the Oilers won this season without a contribution from their captain, and they lost Game 2 despite rallying from down 4-2.

Overall, it turned out to be a tough night for McDavid. He appeared to roll his right ankle at 3:57 of the second period when he got tied up with teammate Mattias Ekholm and Ducks forward Ian Moore at the Edmonton blue line. McDavid stayed on the ice for a few seconds before slowly making his way to the bench and then to the dressing room to be evaluated. He returned later in the period with the Oilers trailing 3-1. 

"I just rolled up on it a little bit. It's fine," McDavid said after the game. 

As concerning as McDavid's injury looked, what's causing Oilers fans anxiety is the number of times he's turned the puck over in the first two games. Officially, it was three giveaways in Game 2 and one in Game 1, and each seem generous. McDavid had difficulty gaining the zone on the power play in the opener and had the play die on his stick far more often than usual in Game 2.

Special teams have been particularly concerning for the Oilers. They're 0-for-6 on the power play and have allowed three goals in five short-handed situations. 

Edmonton also gave up a short-handed goal in Game 2 when McDavid blindly played the puck across his own zone to an open wing, where Ducks forward Alex Killorn collected it and found Ryan Poehling in front.

Poehling tipped it in to give Anaheim a 4-2 lead at 15:50 of the second.

"Yeah, special teams weren't good," McDavid conceded. "I still thought we got looks, I still thought we had chances. Obviously, we've got to find a way to score. We can't give up a shortie either. It will come."

Edmonton had the top power play in the NHL this season (30.6 percent). It was 31.9 percent with Leon Draisaitl in the lineup but dropped to 23.5 percent (13th) in the final 14 games of the season with the forward out because of a lower-body injury. 

"People forget Leon's just back, (Zach Hyman) is just back," McDavid said. "As good as the power play is, it's still a work in progress. We haven't ran our normal routes and had our normal looks for some time. It's not just a light switch, so we're working at it, obviously, and it will be a part of this series."

The giveaway on the short-handed goal reflected McDavid's frustration through the first two games. Anaheim has done a good job of getting sticks in passing lanes and breaking up plays short-handed and at even strength. 

"They're obviously checking hard and they've got good sticks and good players," McDavid said. "And we haven't been as crisp as we'd like, obviously.

"I thought we've done lots of good things. When our game gets little bit slow, that's when we start to lose it a little bit, I think we saw that in the second period, but we sped it up as we went and when we play fast we're tough to handle."

So far, the Ducks have been able to deal with McDavid's speed and is crowding the middle of the ice making it hard for him to attack the net. They've also dictated the pace when Edmonton gets careless with the puck. 

"They've switched their style a little bit, kind of sitting back a little bit, sitting in their 1-1-2 (coverage) and making it tough," McDavid said. "We've got to be stubborn with it and keep putting it in and forecheck them and make them come the full way."

Though the Oilers are in a familiar spot with the series tied and heading on the road, McDavid said they have to ramp up the desperation level. 

"Obviously," he said. "It's the playoffs and we've got to start going."