Missing Playoff Action Was Never an Option for Connor McDavid

Connor McDavid was a game-time decision for the Edmonton Oilers’ must-win Game 5 at home against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night, and while his status did appear to be in serious question, we should have never doubted the best player in the world.

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With Edmonton’s season on the line, their captain gutted through his suspected ankle injury and put forth arguably his best performance of the series when they needed it most. McDavid registered two assists in the 4–1 Oilers win, and it could have been more had some other chances been finished along the way.

It was a great sign for everyone involved, and postgame, during his interview with NHL on TNT, McDavid revealed that sitting out such a pivotal game was never an option that even crossed his mind.

McDavid said:

“Never, never close. We’ve got a lot of guys that are digging in and giving it everything they’ve got. No, it was never an option… We just found a way tonight. We’ve gotta get one win, one win at a time, and we’ve gotta go win a big one on Thursday,”

The 29-year-old McDavid is now up to six points (one goal, five assists) and is a -5 rating through five games played this postseason.

Despite a slow start to the playoffs and an injury nagging him since Game 2, McDavid has now jumped up near the top of the postseason scoring leaderboard just as we’ve come to expect, and that should only continue as long as Edmonton staves off elimination.

They’ll look to do just that by getting their first win in Anaheim of the series in Game 6 on Thursday night at the Honda Center. A Ducks win, however, would send the Oilers packing into an offseason that could potentially be full of big changes.

Next: McDavid a Game-Time Decision for Oilers In Game 5