After two periods I was all ready to write an article tonight about how dreadful the Oiler's are playing and how changes needed to be made with the roster and how the player's weren't putting in a good effort. Then the third period started and Connor McDavid decided it was time to put the team on his back and win the damn game.
Connor McDavid had two goals and two assists on the Oiler's first four goals of the night and set an NHL record for getting points on his teams first 9 goals of the season. A bit of a weird record but another line on the future hall of famers resume. I've been complaining about the lack of scoring depth for the Oiler's so far in the season but when McDavid can do what he did tonight, I guess you don't really need other players.
The Winnipeg Jets came out quickly tonight and capitalized on some errors by Jason Garrison and Matt Benning to take a very early two goal lead. After the atrocious start, it was all doom and gloom in Oil Country. Fans were not happy, myself included.
Connor McDavid got the Oiler's back within one with a beautiful goal, showcasing his speed on a break on the powerplay. It's pretty astonishing how he can make professional players look like pylons when he gets a bit of room. The Jets only needed 22 seconds to regain their two goal lead so hope of a good game started to diminish once again.
The second period opened with Winnipeg on the powerplay and Mark Scheifele scored his second goal of the year to give the Jets a 4-1 lead. Things were not looking good for the Oiler's, down three goals to one of the best teams in the league and not showing any signs of life outside of Connor McDavid. The second period ends with the Jets maintaining their 3 goal lead.
And then the Connor McDavid show started. 18 seconds into the third period McDavid drops the puck to Ty Rattie, who fires home his first goal of the season up over Connor Hellebuyck's shoulder. 4-2 Jets. Two minutes later, on the powerplay, a rebound pops over to McDavid who makes no mistake and buries the puck in the back of the net. 4-3 Jets. The Oiler's continue the pressure over the next ten minutes, a penalty from Milan Lucic threatens to spoil the momentum but after a strong kill the Oiler's strike again. Jesse Puljujarvi got bumped up to the top line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid for one shift and Puljujarvi made the most of it by posting up in front of the net, getting position on the defenseman and putting his first goal in the back of the net. Tie game. The Jets came to life at this point and the whole intensity of the match went through the roof. Neither club was able to score before the end of regulation. Overtime.
Overtime only lasted just over a minute. The Oiler's controlled the play the entire overtime and sealed the victory on a great rush by Darnell Nurse. 5-4 Oiler's and the best comeback in the NHL this season. What a fantastic third period. The fans in Winnipeg were electric trying to surge the Jets to victory but Connor McDavid just bulldozed his way through everything and dragged the Oiler's to victory. 4 points on the night and now 9 after only 4 games.
The hockey world is obsessed with Auston Matthews and his fantastic start to the season but McDavid is already catching up and now has almost matched Matthews production (Matthews at 2.29p/gp, McDavid at 2.25p/gp) and could sneak his way past everyone if he continues to play like he did tonight. We could have a real scoring race on our hands this season and I think it would be great for hockey. The performances by these two young stars are already igniting comparisons similar to Crosby/Ovechin or Gretzky/Lemeiux pretty high praise in the hockey community.
I'm a bit fired up after the game. Tonight was one of those games you can propel an entire season off of. The Oiler's are going to have confidence and swagger heading into their home opener on Thursday against the Boston Bruins. The Oiler's will also be looking to avenge last weeks loss to the Bruins by a score of 4-1. I will definitely be tuning in to see if the Oiler's can keep the momentum going and extend their win streak to three games.
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