If the Canadian continues to follow his bad habits on the ice, we can expect to see Connor McDavid and the explosive Edmonton Oilers having a feast at the Bell Center on Saturday night.
The Habs have just delivered two poor performances in a row, notably that of Thursday when they lost 3 to 2 to the poor San Jose Sharks, a team which had previously suffered 12 consecutive losses. This season, the team of head coach Martin St-Louis has won only eight times in regulation time and there is nothing to suggest that they will add to this total at the end of the week against a club that is the complete opposite of the opponents. previous ones.
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Indeed, the Oilers are one of the teams of the moment in the National Hockey League, with nine consecutive victories. They defeated the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in overtime on Thursday, and McDavid made noise again by scoring his 16th goal of the campaign. To the great pleasure of poolers betting on him, number 97 is in good shape. The last time he was unable to get at least a point was Edmonton’s last loss. During his team’s successful streak, he amassed 15 points.
In short, the troubled past, marked by 10 losses in the first 12 matches of the season and the replacement of head coach Jay Woodcroft by Kris Knoblauch, is behind everyone in the locker room and confidence reigns.
“It says a lot about our group and our determination. We care about everyone’s well-being. It wasn’t the easiest road to get here, but we were able to stay calm. To win nine successive games is very special,” commented fullback Darnell Nurse to the daily “Edmonton Sun”.
Knoblauch’s observations are similar.
“They are tenacious and form a tight-knit group within which everyone does their job,” he said. It’s a very mature team. When there have been many ups and downs, […] we remained positive.”
Well-oiled attack
As many experts expected, the Oilers offense is working well in 2023-2024, even if it took a little time to find its rhythm. Currently, they occupy sixth place in the Bettman circuit with an average of 3.53 goals scored per evening. The power play is seventh at 25.4% and risks causing problems for the Canadian, who displays an efficiency percentage of 73.0% short of a man.
However, the attack alone does not justify the comeback of McDavid’s gang. In net, Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard stabilized a previously difficult situation to control. The first has returned above the .900 mark in terms of efficiency rate, while the second has won four of his last five outings.
“He plays excellently. He is solid, making all the necessary saves to give us a chance to win. In the locker room, he’s a popular guy and the players like him. But he shows up to compete. He was great for us,” said forward Zach Hyman, who is also having an excellent year thanks to his 26 goals.
Saturday’s meeting will be broadcast on TVA Sports on Saturday at 7 p.m.