BLOG: McDavid continues to rise when needed most

EDMONTON, AB - Despite all the superlatives, milestones, and expectations, Connor McDavid still manages to raise the bar.
With the Oilers facing elimination in Round 1, the superstar put on his cape and put together a two-game stretch as good as any the 25-year-old has had in his entire career.
"No," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft bluntly said after being asked if he's seen a performance like Connor's Game 6 & 7. "You guys were witness to what I was witness to, I just had an ice level seat."
McDavid elevated his game to an unforeseen level when it was needed the most. The captain was on the ice for all six Oilers goals in the elimination deterring games and his name appeared on the score sheet for five of them. The centre was rarely uninvolved in the biggest moments of both games, leading all skaters with 51:25 of ice time between the two series-deciding contests.
McDavid now leads the Stanley Cup Playoffs in scoring with 14 points (4 goals, 10 assists) in seven games. He continues to be a showcase of sublime hockey mastery, but in a week where he was named a finalist for the Hart Trophy for the fourth time, and the Ted Lindsay for the fifth, it's been a different trophy that has driven him. The locker room leader's determination this post-season is one his teammates can't help but take notice of.
"He's the best player in the world, and I think he showed that in the last two games," Leon Draisaitl said. "It's not skill, there's lots of skill obviously with him, but it's the will. You can see it in eyes. You can feel it in every shift he's out there. He's determined and there's just no way that we're going to be denied. He led the way, he was amazing."

"Our best players have been our best players this series. If you want to win, if you want to get through one of the hardest rounds to get through, your best players have to be at the top of their game or better," veteran goaltender Mike Smith added. "It's not all on Connor and Leon, but they sure did a heck of a job to get us pushed in the right direction. Tremendous effort by both guys to do that. When the game was on the line, those guys were there playing their best hockey."
The Oilers captain is coming off what is arguably his best regular season to date. McDavid established new career highs across the board in goals (44), assists (79), and points (123) - plus, the 25-year-old has already set a career-high in playoff points (14) with his first-round dominance. He is also being lauded for his commitment to two-way, team-focused hockey, something that may not have always been the case while he was lighting up lamps as an early 20-something. McDavid is currently plus-10 in the playoffs, a far cry from the plus-2 in the 21 post-season games prior to the Los Angeles series.
"What he doesn't get enough credit for is how good of a defensive player he is, the amount of hard minutes he plays, the fouls he skates through, and the price he is made to pay to have that kind of success," Woodcroft said prior to Game 7. "It speaks to his will and his preparation. For someone the calibre of him to be playing the way he is, it's inspirational to the group."

Mcdavid's ascendancy into one of the league's best 'lead by example' captains has coincided with the Oilers success, particularly under Head Coach Jay Woodcroft. The 49 regular-season wins this season were the most by the club since the former first-overall-pick was drafted back in 2015, and the most the Oilers have had since 1986-87.
"I remember when he cracked 100 points and then he set a career-high in points and so many great individual highlights, and the one thing I kept going back to is that he's driven to win," Woodcroft said. "He's a fantastic teammate. He's a leader that leads by example and I'm happy for him."
"When you can raise your level of play after the way he played in the playoffs, it's easy to jump on board and give it everything you have for a captain and leader like that," Smith said.

Next on McDavid's list of accomplishments: advancing past the second round of the playoffs. It's a goal he was so close to realizing back in 2016-17, before a 2-1 Game 7 loss to Anaheim delayed that achievement just a little longer. Fresh off the excitement of eliminating the Kings, McDavid stated that there is still work to be done for this year's iteration of the Edmonton Oilers.
"(The excitement of advancing) is definitely up there, but that being said, it's just one round," McDavid said after Game 7. "There's a long way to go here. We're happy to move on to the second round, but that's all we did. We survived another day."
With the Battle of Alberta on the horizon in Round 2, it's hard to imagine him topping his performance from the last two games. Yet, every time that is said, McDavid continues to shatter those expectations.