How Connor McDavid's Overtime Went from Double Trouble to Oilers Heroics
Connor McDavid's double-minor penalty in overtime could've cost the Edmonton Oilers the win, but he became the Game 1 hero to begin the NHL's Western Conference final.
Thursday night's overtime was all over the place for Connor McDavid.
The Edmonton Oilers' 3-2 double overtime win in Game 1 of the Western Conference final over the Dallas Stars gave them their first Western final win since 2006. But it saw their captain make two potentially costly plays in the first extra frame before playing the hero in the second.
Just 17 seconds into the first overtime period, McDavid was called for a double minor high-sticking penalty after catching Matt Duchene in the face, which drew blood.
The call could have been the nail in the coffin for the Oilers in Game 1. After the Stars battled back from being down 2-0 to force overtime with two Tyler Seguin goals, momentum shifted hard in favor of Dallas. As McDavid said post-game, serving the double minor felt like an eternity.
"Miserable, I hated every second of it," McDavid told reporters post-game.
With McDavid in the penalty box, Edmonton's penalty kill once again held strong, denying Dallas for all four minutes and, in the process, killed off its 19th straight penalty in the playoffs.
"The guys did an amazing job, truthfully," McDavid said. "The penalty kill has just been amazing, and to step in there, four minutes against a good power play, can't give those guys enough credit."
While the power play rightfully gets its due, Edmonton's post-season penalty kill is one of the best ever. Of teams that have played at least 10 games in a single playoff, Edmonton's 92.5-percent penalty kill rate is tied for the third-best in NHL history.
McDavid then got right back to creating chances, but he had a huge chance to end the game a little earlier.
After Dallas Stars netminder Jake Oettinger stopped an initial shot from Zach Hyman, the puck bounced right onto McDavid's stick in front of the net. But as McDavid pulled the puck to his forehand, he waited too long for the perfect opening. Oettinger stuck his stick in the perfect last-gasp position, and Stars defenseman Chris Tanev altered McDavid's shot just enough for Oettinger to make the paddle save.
"I just have to put it in the net, simple as that – shoud've been in the net," McDavid said.
Just as quickly as McDavid's stick put him into trouble at the start of the first overtime, it made him the hero in the second. He redirected a pass from Evan Bouchard past Oettinger just 32 seconds into the frame to give the Oilers a 1-0 series lead.
The goal was also the third-fastest double-overtime winner by an Oiler.
While there's been lots of talk about McDavid not shooting enough and his goals being down this post-season with three, it hasn't meant he still hasn't found ways to be a very effective part of the Oilers' offense.
McDavid leads the NHL in assists with 20 and is second in scoring this post-season, only behind teammate Leon Draisaitl.
In numerous ways, the story of overtime was all about Connor McDavid. If Dallas can't find a way to limit his impact or capitalize on his errors, overtime or not, it may be the biggest hindrance to the Stars getting back to another Stanley Cup final.
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