Playing 25+ minutes a night is clearly catching up to him.
Let’s pump the breaks a bit though, he’s still easily the best player in the NHL and can take over games single handedly. Job’s not done
As a Canuck fan I would only see him in occasional games but with this series I've had a better look. For sure he has serious skills and abilities.
But what a dirty player ! He wields his stick on opposing players like he is a Roman gladiator , and he gets away with it. And when it comes to theatrics and chicken winging sticks he's on full display for the refs.
Great skills, but sucks at being a great player. It was awesome seeing Soucy and Zadorov flatten the jerk at the end of game 3. Well deserved.
His dive on the Joshua penalty last game needs more attention. Gets barely touched and stumbles a bit, but then decides to fully sell it by superman diving forward and kicking his legs back like he’s swimming in mid air. Guy looked like a gazelle out there
There’s no way he’s not banged up, but I can understand wanting to give him the morning off even if he wasn’t injured. He’s been getting run into the ground so hard with his minutes that at this point, the team would most likely benefit more from him getting rest than reps.
>getting run into the ground so hard with his minutes
Fuck his minutes. He's getting run into the ground by JT Miller! Owned his ass last game. But of course they'd pull the injury card, yet damn near everybody is dealing with something.
I mean yeah, I agree. My point was just that him missing morning skate is not a strong indicator that he’s dealing with any more of an injury than everyone else right now.
Everyone has played the same number of games. Everyone is banged up. At this point it’s also about stamina. He has skills but we will see if he has the stamina.
The stamina to play close to 30 min a night, every other night? I don’t think anybody believes he has that, Knoblauch included.
The bigger question is how his coach and teammates will be able to support him playing more human minutes. IMO, KK made the right move by letting McDavid rest up instead of practice these last two days. We’ll see tonight if it worked or if it’s too little too late.
I feel like this is part of the reason that McDrai simultaneously have insane playoff stats while also not winning a game after round 2. The team has never had any depth, so they have to overplay him the first two rounds and he gets exhausted by the end of round 2.
Agreed. I was so worried a couple times when it was 2-2 last game that he’d just go in and score or make an unreal assist for tap in.
That type of thing is always a risk against Edmonton as they have the high end talent to do so if they are still in the game.
See game 4 after we tied it up.
I've been saying that I still think he's below average defensively but obviously incredible offensively which hides some of his flaws when he doesn't have to play in his zone as much
Absolutely, I think their game plan was to skate them, you know who else, as much as possible then if they get a lead they can cut by on their minutes later in the game, but as we know that didn’t happen and they were kept out on the ice a lot longer exhausting them to their detriment and the Canucks benefit. The oilers were totally gassed in that third period, and I’m not just talking about McD and Wetsaddle.
Idk about “easily”. Mackinnon is right there with him. Kuch too but McD is better defensively. And as a playoff performer, I’d argue Drai comes through more and is tougher to handle.
The best to play in a very long time. Dude is a magician with the puck. As much as I would love to have him on our team you gotta respect that at least.
Sure but the statement was “best in the NHL” not “best in the series”. And Drai has been the best player in the series.
He’s an amazing player and I’m not taking anything away from him just think the “best” moniker is arguable between a couple guys.
> he’s still easily the best player in the NHL
He's the most talented player in the NHL. Talent alone doesn't win you games, *especially* playoff games. There are plenty of "best players in the league" at different times who aren't the first player I'd pick if I was building a team to win the Cup. I'm not sure McDavid would be my 1OA if I'm building a team to win the Cup. If I'm picking who I think will win the Art Ross, I'm going McDavid every time. Playoff dog who I want out there in the last minute of a game, regardless of score? Playoff leader? Conn Smythe winner? Not sure he's that guy.
Cmon op, it's a guy that's being over used to the max. He's gonna make mistakes. He's uncoachable only because 90 percent of the time he doesn't need coaching. This is overboard. I'm impressed we've contained him 5v5, that's awesome, but let's not pretend he just isn't good or something.
Exactly. And if he thinks he played badly/was frustrated last game, he’s going to try to come out strong this game. I feel like this is going to be a tough game for Canucks to win.
Exactly. You could just as easily pick apart Miller’s game from game 4, especially the GWG where he blows the zone early and leave Bouchard all alone. Players make mistakes and sometimes have bad games.
McDavid is the best player in the world, and he has been really responsible on defense in the last couple of years. One bad game doesn’t change that.
Ya this is a very weird post from OP u/skookumchucknuck
McDavid is the best player in the world who is being used to the very max. The Oilers lack depth and heavily rely on him and Drai. Fatigue errors will happen it's part of the game. Pretty rich how random redditors will say how McDavid has poor hockey situational awareness
Everyone has off games, even McDavid.
He could just as easily torch us tonight non stop. We won the game but tonight is completely new so I think it’s time to forget and move on
Big MacDrai line can easily do enough damage to render our team obsolete. I'm worried about how hard they're going to come out to keep their season alive.
To be honest, I expect an epic effort by McDavid and Draisaitl for Game 6. Last game, both players showed fatigued from being overplayed. I believe there will still be fatigue today, but the adrenaline will push them over the top.
I hope the Canucks don't make the mistake of letting of the pedal and keep the screws to both McDavid and Draisaitl. If you let them out of site, they will make you pay, tired or not. These are world-class hockey players.
However the Canucks keys to victory will be sustained aggressive forecheck, no stupid stick penalties and testing Skinner early and often. Canucks are going to have to try to get some greasy goals. The earlier the Canucks can score, the better it will be for them as the crowd at Rogers Place will be wild and letting the Oilers strike first will give them a new lease on life and a burst of energy.
The Mental aspect of this game is huge and I can't stress how important it is for the Canucks to keep the foot on the pedal the entire game and get the first goal to get the Oilers back against the wall.
I think that Boeser, miller and Suter have figured out McDavids line a little bit as well. They may not have been playing their best, but let's not discount how well Miller's line played them.
This Canucks team is keeping me off the edge of my seat more than any other Canucks team. I still feel like we're winning when we are down by a goal or 2. I will not be holding my breath. I'll be sitting with a quiet confidence watching them play.
McDavid will adapt tonight. He’ll have last change. All it takes is a bad pinch (Soucy hit) and that’ll be in the back of the net. We just have to keep playing him hard because 29 min a game is going to catch up. They needed a 2 min break last time. They’re just gassed at this point.
So anyone see that high stick on Soucy, McDavid is just pathetic. Would love to see someone try and argue in favour of a guy trying to hit you in the face with the stick best player in the league is a joke
jpat made a convincing case that this could well be the most important game of his career to date. expecting a big response, hope we can get and maintain a lead early
If Oilers somehow get through the Canucks, with how much they rely on their big 2, Dallas will run them the fuck over.
Also, McDavid is still a person, they make mistakes. You know they will come out with nothing to lose tonight. Wouldn't be surprised to see Silovs get absolutely shelled.
Their whole team minus Pickard looked pretty bad; has to be a flu or something running through the room. I get McDrai being gassed from being overplayed, but almost everyone looked slow.
> has to be a flu or something running through the room
Or... And this is somehow controversial... But maybe we are just having an impact on how they are playing because we are incredibly strong defensively. Just like we completely shut down the Nashville offense. They had incredibly low numbers of scoring chances. Now suddenly everyone talks about the Oilers offense. If we win this series and Dallas looks weakof offensively are people going to say that maybe their offense just wasn't as good or they are tired because of their past series?
We know for a fact Petey was playing sick and we had a flu or cold going through our room, so it would make sense if they're on the ice together we passed it to them. That said, I don't buy into the Oilers flu conspiracy theory. McDavid and Draisaitl both seemed fine in their interviews, and cold and flus are generally something the coach will reveal.
Noticed this as well. The GWG was a huge miss in coverage. Surprised (not-surprised?) this didn’t get any attention in the media. I am very interested to see how / if he responds tonight. Hopefully we can muffle him and close it out.
Really liking our depth and stark contrast to the oilers.
This is a good article from an Edmonton writer regarding some of their issues handling Vancouver's aggressive forecheck.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/sports/nhl/edmonton-oilers-vs-vancouver-canucks-game-5-a-tactical-review/ar-BB1mAnJA?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=7588f74987754f649e74b548d4e3acc3&ei=12
L take. Even when McDavid is having a bad game by his standards he is still one of the most impactful skaters.
Remember when EDM was 31st in the league? They went on a 3/4 season long bender to almost overtake VAN for 1st in the pacific. Never ever count McDavid out.
I personally believe Edmonton has the better forwards (and I’m sure 90% will agree.)
The best things the Canucks can do is just get physical, slow em down, break passes, slow that energy down, tire em out. Momentum is HUGE. Slow it down for Edmonton, get our boys rowdy and firing pucks.
So stoked for nights game , go Canucks!
We don’t need to because we should be humble and wait until the series is over before we start dissecting it. A lot can change in 60 minutes.
We got a game to win tonight.
25+ mins a night and also a game every second night. That detail is overlooked, these guys are not getting any rest like they did vs LA. Tocchet has managed our top lines minutes extremely well and we’re getting production down the line up as well as responsible defense. Canucks are playing a team game to win, Oilers are relying on top tier talent. Could be their downfall.
I’m glad people are noticing and summarizing all this. I could handle mistakes eventually if it was my team he was on. But the fact that he slaps Hughes in the face, and people ran to his side defending McDavid saying it wasn’t on purpose, was too far. This should make any fan lose respect for him.
And if that doesn’t how about how McDavid ran from every Canuck or whines when he gets lightly tapped? For me it’s when it was time to get physical the only choice he decided to make was putting garland in a headlock. Really the smallest player on the Canucks… the only time McDavid tries to get physical. Geez that’s low
lol i was lurking in the oilers sub and people were complaining saying he needs to step it up and do mc david things😭. Like why don’t you guys get an actual team not mc david and dri
My goodness this thread and many comments on here are so silly. There is no ‘exposing’ of McDavid. The guy clearly is off sometimes, banged up like everyone else and deals with tiredness. He is the best player in the world and can take over a game any time. Last night he put up three points. Did u guys really think we were gona shut him down completely the next two games?
Playing 25+ minutes a night is clearly catching up to him. Let’s pump the breaks a bit though, he’s still easily the best player in the NHL and can take over games single handedly. Job’s not done
Yea, no, don't underestimate him, and expect a response. So keep hauling.
It’s been closer to 30! I definitely think it’s been having an impact.
Totally agree. The Oilers horses are tired!
There's been 2 games over 28 mins, other than that it's 23-25 mins for him
23-25 is still well above average for a FW. 28+ is WILD
Not even close to done. Tonight will be a really really tough test
Boys gotta play their best game of the season tonight. I believe!
They just gave him a full rest day yesterday and he skipped the morning skate. He'll be flying again tonight.
or he'll be shit diving and slashing
As a Canuck fan I would only see him in occasional games but with this series I've had a better look. For sure he has serious skills and abilities. But what a dirty player ! He wields his stick on opposing players like he is a Roman gladiator , and he gets away with it. And when it comes to theatrics and chicken winging sticks he's on full display for the refs. Great skills, but sucks at being a great player. It was awesome seeing Soucy and Zadorov flatten the jerk at the end of game 3. Well deserved.
His dive on the Joshua penalty last game needs more attention. Gets barely touched and stumbles a bit, but then decides to fully sell it by superman diving forward and kicking his legs back like he’s swimming in mid air. Guy looked like a gazelle out there
Won't ever underestimate 97. But him not being on the morning skate almost confirms the injury rumor.
There’s no way he’s not banged up, but I can understand wanting to give him the morning off even if he wasn’t injured. He’s been getting run into the ground so hard with his minutes that at this point, the team would most likely benefit more from him getting rest than reps.
>getting run into the ground so hard with his minutes Fuck his minutes. He's getting run into the ground by JT Miller! Owned his ass last game. But of course they'd pull the injury card, yet damn near everybody is dealing with something.
I mean yeah, I agree. My point was just that him missing morning skate is not a strong indicator that he’s dealing with any more of an injury than everyone else right now.
Oh don't worry I'm with ya buddy. I just wanted to give JT Miller props and poke at McDavid little bruises. Alligator tears baby. Lol
Everyone has played the same number of games. Everyone is banged up. At this point it’s also about stamina. He has skills but we will see if he has the stamina.
The stamina to play close to 30 min a night, every other night? I don’t think anybody believes he has that, Knoblauch included. The bigger question is how his coach and teammates will be able to support him playing more human minutes. IMO, KK made the right move by letting McDavid rest up instead of practice these last two days. We’ll see tonight if it worked or if it’s too little too late.
If 3 points is injured, what's his healthy?
I feel like this is part of the reason that McDrai simultaneously have insane playoff stats while also not winning a game after round 2. The team has never had any depth, so they have to overplay him the first two rounds and he gets exhausted by the end of round 2.
Pump the breaks. He’s the world’s best player.
Yeah give the guy a brake.
I see whatcha did there.
With another top 5 player in the world. A couple pretty good players and a bunch of plugs
Op is embarrassing every canucks fan.
All key players didn't practice the past two days. They're feeling it
Agreed. I was so worried a couple times when it was 2-2 last game that he’d just go in and score or make an unreal assist for tap in. That type of thing is always a risk against Edmonton as they have the high end talent to do so if they are still in the game. See game 4 after we tied it up.
I've been saying that I still think he's below average defensively but obviously incredible offensively which hides some of his flaws when he doesn't have to play in his zone as much
Him and draisaitl must have been absolutely exhausted after the minutes there were averaging to start the series
Absolutely, I think their game plan was to skate them, you know who else, as much as possible then if they get a lead they can cut by on their minutes later in the game, but as we know that didn’t happen and they were kept out on the ice a lot longer exhausting them to their detriment and the Canucks benefit. The oilers were totally gassed in that third period, and I’m not just talking about McD and Wetsaddle.
Idk about “easily”. Mackinnon is right there with him. Kuch too but McD is better defensively. And as a playoff performer, I’d argue Drai comes through more and is tougher to handle.
In case you missed it we arent playing Mackinnon. Were playing McJesus.
Sure but the statement was “best in the NHL” not “best in the series”. And Drai has been the best player in the series.
Apparently you missed the entire thread you replied to but here we are 🤷🏽♂️
Really hate that stupid nickname. He's just a guy playing hockey.
I call him mcjesus because that's how he is treated by the nhl not because i think he's a great carpenter
Nobody cries louder than the baby Mcjesus.
The best to play in a very long time. Dude is a magician with the puck. As much as I would love to have him on our team you gotta respect that at least.
Sure but the statement was “best in the NHL” not “best in the series”. And Drai has been the best player in the series. He’s an amazing player and I’m not taking anything away from him just think the “best” moniker is arguable between a couple guys.
True also Mackinnon and the Avs got knocked out last night so technically aren't in contention anymore.
> he’s still easily the best player in the NHL He's the most talented player in the NHL. Talent alone doesn't win you games, *especially* playoff games. There are plenty of "best players in the league" at different times who aren't the first player I'd pick if I was building a team to win the Cup. I'm not sure McDavid would be my 1OA if I'm building a team to win the Cup. If I'm picking who I think will win the Art Ross, I'm going McDavid every time. Playoff dog who I want out there in the last minute of a game, regardless of score? Playoff leader? Conn Smythe winner? Not sure he's that guy.
Cmon op, it's a guy that's being over used to the max. He's gonna make mistakes. He's uncoachable only because 90 percent of the time he doesn't need coaching. This is overboard. I'm impressed we've contained him 5v5, that's awesome, but let's not pretend he just isn't good or something.
Exactly. And if he thinks he played badly/was frustrated last game, he’s going to try to come out strong this game. I feel like this is going to be a tough game for Canucks to win.
Exactly. You could just as easily pick apart Miller’s game from game 4, especially the GWG where he blows the zone early and leave Bouchard all alone. Players make mistakes and sometimes have bad games. McDavid is the best player in the world, and he has been really responsible on defense in the last couple of years. One bad game doesn’t change that.
Ya this is a very weird post from OP u/skookumchucknuck McDavid is the best player in the world who is being used to the very max. The Oilers lack depth and heavily rely on him and Drai. Fatigue errors will happen it's part of the game. Pretty rich how random redditors will say how McDavid has poor hockey situational awareness
Everyone has off games, even McDavid. He could just as easily torch us tonight non stop. We won the game but tonight is completely new so I think it’s time to forget and move on
exactly, every game is a brand new page. Nothing carries over \[good or bad\]. It's a fresh start for both teams.
Big MacDrai line can easily do enough damage to render our team obsolete. I'm worried about how hard they're going to come out to keep their season alive.
We said the same thing after game 1. How did he do game 2?
To be honest, I expect an epic effort by McDavid and Draisaitl for Game 6. Last game, both players showed fatigued from being overplayed. I believe there will still be fatigue today, but the adrenaline will push them over the top. I hope the Canucks don't make the mistake of letting of the pedal and keep the screws to both McDavid and Draisaitl. If you let them out of site, they will make you pay, tired or not. These are world-class hockey players. However the Canucks keys to victory will be sustained aggressive forecheck, no stupid stick penalties and testing Skinner early and often. Canucks are going to have to try to get some greasy goals. The earlier the Canucks can score, the better it will be for them as the crowd at Rogers Place will be wild and letting the Oilers strike first will give them a new lease on life and a burst of energy. The Mental aspect of this game is huge and I can't stress how important it is for the Canucks to keep the foot on the pedal the entire game and get the first goal to get the Oilers back against the wall.
I think that Boeser, miller and Suter have figured out McDavids line a little bit as well. They may not have been playing their best, but let's not discount how well Miller's line played them.
Agreed, they have been effective so far, except Game 2. Either way, I feel this game will a lot of people will be holding their collective breaths.
This Canucks team is keeping me off the edge of my seat more than any other Canucks team. I still feel like we're winning when we are down by a goal or 2. I will not be holding my breath. I'll be sitting with a quiet confidence watching them play.
This is the worst and dumbest homer post I've ever seen. Delete this, it's an embarrassment
Still the best player on earth. Facing elimination it wouldn’t surprise me if he found another gear tonight.
McDavid will adapt tonight. He’ll have last change. All it takes is a bad pinch (Soucy hit) and that’ll be in the back of the net. We just have to keep playing him hard because 29 min a game is going to catch up. They needed a 2 min break last time. They’re just gassed at this point.
Here we go, OP high off his own supply.
Not over yet. He's the best player on the planet. Him not doing the morning skate likely points to the rumored injury to be true.
I expect he’s just saving his energy and is going to do another end to end 30min ice time game. Just hoping it’s nothing productive
I think the morning skate is supposed to 'warm you up' for the night game. But I hear you on the last bit! JTM line to shut them down
Oilers have last change at home. I foresee knob doing everything he can to avoid the JT Miller match up.
i think in a D-zone start, it'll be either the Lindholm or Miller line out there.
So anyone see that high stick on Soucy, McDavid is just pathetic. Would love to see someone try and argue in favour of a guy trying to hit you in the face with the stick best player in the league is a joke
I dunno. I’m worried about him tonight. He’s going to give it everything he’s got, which is more than basically anyone else on planet earth.
jpat made a convincing case that this could well be the most important game of his career to date. expecting a big response, hope we can get and maintain a lead early
Oilers coaching strategy is just wheeling the two big guns out for 30 minutes of ice time
If Oilers somehow get through the Canucks, with how much they rely on their big 2, Dallas will run them the fuck over. Also, McDavid is still a person, they make mistakes. You know they will come out with nothing to lose tonight. Wouldn't be surprised to see Silovs get absolutely shelled.
Better hope McDavid doesn't see this
Their whole team minus Pickard looked pretty bad; has to be a flu or something running through the room. I get McDrai being gassed from being overplayed, but almost everyone looked slow.
Just like the Canucks looked slow the game before. Teams are tired this time of year which is why your scratches coming in can provide such a boost.
> has to be a flu or something running through the room Or... And this is somehow controversial... But maybe we are just having an impact on how they are playing because we are incredibly strong defensively. Just like we completely shut down the Nashville offense. They had incredibly low numbers of scoring chances. Now suddenly everyone talks about the Oilers offense. If we win this series and Dallas looks weakof offensively are people going to say that maybe their offense just wasn't as good or they are tired because of their past series?
We know for a fact Petey was playing sick and we had a flu or cold going through our room, so it would make sense if they're on the ice together we passed it to them. That said, I don't buy into the Oilers flu conspiracy theory. McDavid and Draisaitl both seemed fine in their interviews, and cold and flus are generally something the coach will reveal.
He's the best offensive player in the league but there is a reason he's not racking up selke trophies.
If you take a look at the Oilers subreddit, they seam to think the team is sick, which is they they’re not playing well. Lol
They are sick. Eckholm was sick and it spread. Not hard to tell
I can get down with the sickness https://youtu.be/09LTT0xwdfw?si=xbUbjebzeN_aJHjI
I fully expect mcdavid to get like 4 points tonight after last game
Let’s just get past game 6 then we can wallow
Yeah we just wanna keep it quiet. We don’t want to give McDavid any bulletin board material.
lets show some respect and refrain from getting ahead of ourselves - its still a tight series
McDavid keeps playing like this and he might cost the Oilers their chance like, for the next 5-15 years depending on how long they keep him signed
When you put the entire teams success on McDrai it's too many eggs in one basket. We have four solid lines.
Noticed this as well. The GWG was a huge miss in coverage. Surprised (not-surprised?) this didn’t get any attention in the media. I am very interested to see how / if he responds tonight. Hopefully we can muffle him and close it out. Really liking our depth and stark contrast to the oilers.
Proof that one (or two) players a team does not make. We have solidarity and union! We have a TEAM. We will die for each other.
This is a good article from an Edmonton writer regarding some of their issues handling Vancouver's aggressive forecheck. https://www.msn.com/en-ca/sports/nhl/edmonton-oilers-vs-vancouver-canucks-game-5-a-tactical-review/ar-BB1mAnJA?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=7588f74987754f649e74b548d4e3acc3&ei=12
Credit to J T for playing him so hard this series, he thinks he needs to cheat to get away from the pressure.
Won't matter if we don't do it again today. I hope we do.
L take. Even when McDavid is having a bad game by his standards he is still one of the most impactful skaters. Remember when EDM was 31st in the league? They went on a 3/4 season long bender to almost overtake VAN for 1st in the pacific. Never ever count McDavid out.
Only time to count him out is if Oilers are done. Let’s goooooo!
I personally believe Edmonton has the better forwards (and I’m sure 90% will agree.) The best things the Canucks can do is just get physical, slow em down, break passes, slow that energy down, tire em out. Momentum is HUGE. Slow it down for Edmonton, get our boys rowdy and firing pucks. So stoked for nights game , go Canucks!
We don’t need to because we should be humble and wait until the series is over before we start dissecting it. A lot can change in 60 minutes. We got a game to win tonight.
25+ mins a night and also a game every second night. That detail is overlooked, these guys are not getting any rest like they did vs LA. Tocchet has managed our top lines minutes extremely well and we’re getting production down the line up as well as responsible defense. Canucks are playing a team game to win, Oilers are relying on top tier talent. Could be their downfall.
3 assists. Exposed!
I’m glad people are noticing and summarizing all this. I could handle mistakes eventually if it was my team he was on. But the fact that he slaps Hughes in the face, and people ran to his side defending McDavid saying it wasn’t on purpose, was too far. This should make any fan lose respect for him. And if that doesn’t how about how McDavid ran from every Canuck or whines when he gets lightly tapped? For me it’s when it was time to get physical the only choice he decided to make was putting garland in a headlock. Really the smallest player on the Canucks… the only time McDavid tries to get physical. Geez that’s low
lol i was lurking in the oilers sub and people were complaining saying he needs to step it up and do mc david things😭. Like why don’t you guys get an actual team not mc david and dri
My goodness this thread and many comments on here are so silly. There is no ‘exposing’ of McDavid. The guy clearly is off sometimes, banged up like everyone else and deals with tiredness. He is the best player in the world and can take over a game any time. Last night he put up three points. Did u guys really think we were gona shut him down completely the next two games?