Oilers’ McDavid Makes Candid Regular Season Confession Ahead of Game 1

Connor McDavid spoke with the Edmonton Oilers media after the team’s practice on Sunday. He talked about the team being where they are after a trying regular season that left them, at one point, in a position where they felt they might actually fall out of playoff contention. They rebounded, but part of the reason for their struggles was the team’s lack of excitement over the full 82-game schedule.

Calling the regular season “monotonous”, McDavid suggested the attitude has shifted, and the time for being bored or phoning it in is over.

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“We’re in the playoffs, and we have an opportunity to play a game tomorrow, and that’s exciting, and I know this group is excited for it,” he said. “The regular season has become a little bit monotonous for this group, I think you see that in the day-to-day. This is what we get excited for.”

McDavid was referring to the Oilers’ tendency to start seasons slowly. This year in particular, it took them some time to get out of the gate. So much so, things got to the point where the Oilers traded goaltender Stuart Skinner. When that didn’t necessarily shock the team into playing a better style of game, especially a defensive shutdown game, they brought back former assistant coach Paul Coffey.

Now, the team has found its rhythm, and they’re heading into the playoffs where they know the games really matter.

Edmonton was well aware that pacing themselves after so much hockey in the last few seasons would be important. No team has played as many playoff games in the last three seasons and you can’t go full steam all the time.

McDavid added, “You know, health throughout the playoffs is important, and whoever can stay the healthiest has the best chance of winning. So, you want to be healthy day one, and we’re getting closer and closer to that. That being said, we know whoever’s in the line, if you get the job done, you know whoever’s in there, we expect to play our game.”

This group knows what to expect and they understand the environment . While there are some members of the team for which this will be new, most of the leadership group knows the game and the pressures, the momentum swings that the playoffs bring. “It’s really a different game, it really is, and you have to understand all of that, and this group understands that. We’ve been through plenty of runs and played in plenty of good games, and tomorrow is no different.

For all these reasons, McDavid and some of the other players were likely going less than full speed for much of the year. If they can find that next gear, especially if the Oilers ice a full lineup, that’s a huge plus.

Next: Path to Another Deep Oilers Playoff Run Opened Up with Ducks Draw