EDMONTON 鈥� For Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, there鈥檚 a little something extra riding on Saturday鈥檚 game against the Colorado Avalanche.
Nathan MacKinnon, the NHL scoring leader, is going to be in Edmonton. And he's on a heater 鈥� MacKinnon has amassed 10 goals and 20 assists over the course of his 14-game point streak,
鈥淚鈥檓 always motivated to go up against the league鈥檚 best, and he would certainly fall under that category,鈥� McDavid said of MacKinnon.
鈥淎ctually, a bunch of them would 鈥� (Mikko) Rantanen, (Cale) Makar, (Devon) Toews. They鈥檝e got an elite group over there, and I love testing myself against those types of guys.鈥�
For the better part of the last decade, McDavid and MacKinnon have been central to the debate over who is the best overall player in the game. McDavid has three Hart Trophies. MacKinnon has yet to capture the MVP, but he has an even greater prize 鈥� a Stanley Cup ring.聽
But, Vancouver Canucks defenceman Nikita Zadorov turned some heads when he broke the humble-NHLer stereotype by declaring MacKinnon the best player in the world and the guy he鈥檇 want to build a team around.
鈥淏ecause he's a winner,鈥� Zadorov told reporters Wednesday. 鈥淗e won the Stanley Cup.鈥�
MacKinnon had a goal and an assist Wednesday as the Avs came back from a 3-0 deficit to clip the Canucks 4-3 in overtime.聽
MacKinnon leads the NHL with 115 points. McDavid, who has won three straight scoring titles, and five out of the last seven seasons, is in third with 106.
鈥淗e鈥檚 just so powerful,鈥� McDavid said of MacKinnon. 鈥淗e skates so well, he鈥檚 big and strong and assertive.鈥�
The Avalanche (42-20-5) and Oilers (40-21-3), two of the favourites to win the Western Conference, have yet to face each other this season. After Saturday鈥檚 game, the Avs will visit Edmonton again on April 5, and then host the Oilers on the final day of the season, April 18.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a great thing,鈥� said McDavid. 鈥淥f course, these guys are as good as anyone in the league. It鈥檚 good to test where your team鈥檚 at and where your game鈥檚 at against one of the league鈥檚 best.鈥�
"En route to winning the 2022 Stanley Cup, the Avalanche dispatched the Oilers in four consecutive games during the Western Conference finals, with the series-clinching victory coming at Rogers Place.
MacKinnon鈥檚 confidence was on full display in the series.聽
Game 4 went to overtime, ending on a goal by Artturi Lehkonen. The play was reviewed for a possible high stick, but the marker stood.
After the game, MacKinnon said of the review: 鈥淎t that point, it wouldn鈥檛 have mattered, we would have kept going and got the win.鈥澛�
There was a swagger about him 鈥� and the Oilers still talk about that playoff series as a lesson learned.聽
鈥淲e went into that series with lots of hope, and we came out of it saying we had a lot of work to do as a team, to compete with teams like that on a nightly basis,鈥� said Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse. 鈥淚 think we鈥檝e matured a lot, in the sense that no matter the situation, we鈥檙e not trying to force games, force offence. I think that鈥檚 been the growth point of our season so far, this year.鈥�
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said McDavid and MacKinnon are similar in the fact that they rarely see teams that treat a game against them like another day at the office. Despite having to face teams that are always up to play against the best, they still manage to put up big numbers.
And going into Saturday, Knoblauch knows there鈥檚 no way to stop MacKinnon, especially with the tear he鈥檚 been on.
鈥淲hether that鈥檚 matchups or systems, if we鈥檙e going to have success, we need to limit the opportunities he has,鈥� said Knoblauch. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to shut him down completely, he鈥檚 going to get chances because he is a really good hockey player.鈥�
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 15, 2024.
Steven Sandor, The Canadian Press
