The Edmonton Oilers captain isn't concerned whatsoever.
The Edmonton Oilers captain isn't concerned whatsoever.
EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid is no stranger to scoring goals.
To be fair, he is no stranger to collecting points, period. But so far this year he isn't on the same level that he was last year - as far as goals are concerned. For starters, he hasn't scored since the first game back from the All-Star break against the Vegas Golden Knights.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmgTQck6vFk[/embed]
In 2022-23 he was on a 0.78 goals per game (G/GP) pace. This season he's down to 0.40 G/GP. The last time he was less than 0.5 G/GP was back in the 2016-17 season - his first full one in the NHL.
McDavid wants to contribute to the team's success as a whole and not focus on his own personal accolades. He said to the press after practice today, "I want to help this team any way I can and scoring goals is part of that."
The focus for McDavid isn't to break his score-less streak, but to help the team. He wants to produce in more ways than just putting the puck in the back of the net.
"I've gone through stretches where I haven't scored and still been productive."
He has passed up scoring chances by passing to his line mates. McDavid himself recognizes this, "passing away some opportunities. I think back to some 2-on-1's passing away. Good looks in the slot passing away."
One of the beneficiaries of his passes has been teammate Zach Hyman. Hyman doesn't believe that McDavid is differing, but instead making the best decision that he can in every situation he's in.
"He's obviously a special player. I wouldn't have this year without him. I think he makes his read every time he's out there, whether it's shooting or passing. He's not trying to set records for himself, he's just trying to win hockey games."
McDavid was asked if he was concerned about the lack of goals he has scored this year. The Oilers captain had a light-hearted response, "I've decided I'm just going to see how many assists I can get. That's the focus, I'm not going to shoot the puck anymore."
"I'm not going to score anymore goals."
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uR3BhFsYLE[/embed]
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