Edmonton Oilers
McDavid Bounces Back After No Points With Hat Trick Game
Connor McDavid broke out of his one-game scoring slump with a hat trick against the Canucks on Thursday: the 8th hat trick of his career.
It’s rare that Connor McDavid goes pointless in a game. It seems even odder that he would do so on his birthday. Yet, in the opening game of the NHL season, when he’s historically been so productive, he did exactly that. Because McDavid didn’t register a point in the first game of the 2020-21 campaign, there was a feeling in the air before Game 2 that he wasn’t about to let that go unanswered.
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On Thursday, McDavid scored three in a win over the Vancouver Canucks to bring the Oilers to 1-1 on the season. Essentially, the two teams split the difference in the series opener but it was McDavid’s 8th career hat-trick (7th of the regular season) that was the difference. He was 3-1-4 on the night with a bounce back game that few fans should be surprised about.
You could tell McDavid was starting to wake up towards the end of the first game. But, he was still relatively quiet for all the talk about how quick he was at camp and how ready he seemed. On Thursday, that speed was on full display.
The Oilers Found Their Scoring
The game ended with the two teams combining for a whopping 86 shots. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two goals and Leon Draisaitl posted four assists.
McDavid said after the game, when asked about the difference between the first and second game, “Gotta work a little harder, we had our chances… I like where our game was at today.” When asked if it was hard to see no hats on the ice to celebrate his three goals, all McDavid would say was “We miss the fans a lot.”
After a loss with no points, McDavid has 7 goals and 11 points throughout his career. In other words, it didn’t feel like a matter of it, but when McDavid would break out.
Koskinen had a rebound performance, allowing only two goals on 40 shots. He let in five goals in the previous game, and was forced to play in a back-to-back when it was learned Mike Smith was unable to dress for Thursday evening’s contest.
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