McDavid’s 4-point night helps Oilers beat Penguins and clinch 2nd seed in Pacific Division | CBC Sports

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Five steps. That was all it took for Connor McDavid to get past two Pittsburgh Penguins for a magnificent goal in what is shaping up to be another showpiece of the season for the Edmonton star.

A fourth goalscoring title is in sight for McDavid. Perhaps a deep playoff run as well for the rising Oilers. The postseason is much murkier for the player McDavid replaced as the face of the NHL.

Sidney Crosby and the Penguins are reeling, the latest setback a 5-1 loss to McDavid and Edmonton on Tuesday that clinched second place in the Pacific Division and offered a portrait of two teams going in opposite directions.

McDavid overwhelmed Pittsburgh with his speed and the kind of dazzling game that used to be Crosby’s almost exclusive domain. McDavid’s 22nd career four-point night ended with a nice shot from a tight angle at 9:13 of the third period.

WATCH l McDavid scores the 44th goal of the season:

McDavid’s 44th goal from a crazy angle

Connor McDavid had a goal and three assists in Edmonton’s 5-1 victory over the Penguins. 0:59

With Edmonton on the power play, McDavid took a pass from Leon Draisaitl high in the slot, zipped past Evan Rodrigues, then slid past 6-foot-3 Jeff Carter before firing while sliding on a skid. His 44th goal of the season gave the Oilers a three-goal lead and left the 25-year-old smiling as he skidded onto Edmonton’s dizzying bench.

“The best player in the world, right?” Oilers forward Zach Hyman said. “So that’s what you expect and that’s what you get.”

Evander Kane scored his sixth goal in his last four games for Edmonton. Hyman, Evan Bouchard and Zack Kassian also scored as the Oilers improved to 17-4-2 in their last 23 games. Mike Smith stopped 33 shots to win his ninth consecutive start.

ice advantage at home

The victory ensured Edmonton home-court advantage in the first round when the Stanley Cup hunt begins in earnest next week. Not bad for a team that was reeling around the All-Star break. Not so much anymore with McDavid and Draisaitl in full flight and Kane in tear.

“You want to be playing well before the playoffs,” Hyman said. “You don’t want to have a bit of a cool down because it’s hard to get that back, it’s hard to get back into shape.”

The penguins would know. Pittsburgh is 6-9-2 in its last 17 games after losing at home to Edmonton in regulation for the first time since 2006. Crosby had five shots on goal but didn’t score a point as Pittsburgh spent most of the night chasing McDavid. .

“They’re one of the fastest teams in the league,” Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson said. “We’re also fast. They just outpaced us in the speed department. We have to get closer to them and not let them pick up that speed.”

Carter scored his 19th goal for Pittsburgh and Casey DeSmith finished with 37 saves for the Penguins, who played their straight game without injured All-Star goalie Tristan Jarry. The problem isn’t DeSmith’s game (he had a 52-save shutout against Boston last week), but what happens in front of him.

The Penguins have allowed at least 40 shots in three of their last four games and allowed the Oilers to make 16 of the game’s first 24 shots, several on breakaways and odd man runs. DeSmith stopped McDavid and Kane early, but Bouchard’s wrist shot from near the top of the faceoff circle sailed past the goalkeeper’s glove 12:47 into the game to put Edmonton in front.

Carter tied the game 5:23 into the period when Mike Matheson’s blast from the spot went wide of the net and right into Carter’s post at the gate.

Twenty-five seconds later, the Oilers finished with a nice run that ended with a pass from McDavid to Kailer Yamamoto, who then slid the puck across the ice to Kane. Kane beat DeSmith for his 22nd goal in just 41 games played this season.

Hyman hit a shot from the front on the power play 4:08 in the third to make it 3-1 and McDavid took his point total to a career-best and NHL-leading 122 with his brilliant goal.

“It’s unbelievable,” Bouchard said of McDavid. “At this age you wouldn’t think someone would get that many points, but it doesn’t surprise me at all. Watching him all year, you really see the kind of player he is.”



Reference-www.cbc.ca

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