Q: How do you defend Connor McDavid one-on-one?
A: You don’t.
“The last time I saw a guy go faster than the whole league,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said earlier this month, “was Bobby Orr, and I was nine years old.”
That setup didn’t lead to a goal, but the Oilers did beat Arizona 3-2, ending one of the stranger streaks in hockey: This was Edmonton’s first regulation win over the Coyotes in 26 games.
This game had a little bit of everything, including a pair of fights in the third.
With the win, the Oilers are tied atop the Pacific (though San Jose has two games in hand), leading to the very valid question: Is it that three first overall draft picks aren’t quite enough to get good, but four are, or is it that the fourth was Connor McDavid? I have my suspicions.