It was a concerning start to the season for Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid as he missed a brief period of time with an injury and never really looked fully healed even when he was in the lineup. This resulted in him scoring (just) four goals and 13 points in his first 14 games.
For most players, that would be an excellent start. But for McDavid, who had 64 goals and 153 points last season, the 76 point pace he started the season on was a major regression that would have been the largest season-to-season point drop in NHL history.
Fortunately, last week, with three goals and 12 points, McDavid found some of the form we expect of him to lead the league and earn himself the honour of being named the NHL’s first star of the week.
This time, he beat out Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov, who had eight points in three games, and Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros, who went 3-0-0 on the week with a .921 SV% and 2.35 GAA.
As the Oilers as a whole need to find a turning point on what has been a massive disappointment to start the 2023–24 season, having McDavid and Leon Draisaitl break out of their slumps will be crucial to the team’s uphill climb to make the playoffs.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
One Comment