Connor McDavid. He's the primary Rangers challenge on Saturday night at Rogers Place in Edmonton; and why shouldn't he be? The Hockey News editor-in-chief Ryan Kennedy calls him "The No. 1 Player In The NHL, and he's only getting better." Artemi Panarin – in tenth place on THN's "Top 50 Players" list – is the closest Ranger to Mister No. 1 followed by Adam Fox in 12th spot. "Every aspect of McDavid's offensive game is head and shoulders above the competition," says The Old Scout. "You start with his skating, use of his size, stickhandling ability, motivation and anything else worth mentioning." Connor may seem like Superman On Skates but he is not. For one thing, he has never won a Stanley Cup. For another, when he reached the seventh game of the Final against Florida last spring, he didn't deliver – but the Panthers did. "The trick in stopping McDavid," adds The Old Scout, "is to have a Ranger forechecker on Connor before he gets over the Oilers blue line or – for sure – at center ice. Once he gets up a head of steam, he's tough to stop." For the New Yorkers the focus is which goalkeeper coach Peter Laviolette chooses to defuse Edmonton's captain. And, frankly, there is no logical choice. Stan Fischler talks about Matt Rempe. Cup-Winner Jonathan Quick has pulled off two straight shutouts and would be The Maven's choice. But Laviolette may feel obliged to go back to Igor Shesrterkin who made 46 saves against Calgary. It's possible that the fatigue factor was what foiled Shesty but that's for the history books now. Edmonton was picked to lead the Pacific Division but the Oilers 10-9-2 mark is not exactly what puts the fear of losing in the hearts of foes. Granted, the likes of McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins can be scary. But for years now, the Oilers goaltending could be called Sieve, Inc. Currently, hometown boy Stu Skinner and Cal Pickard represent the two-two combo because neither is genuinely good enough to be called a "Number One." With that in mind, The Maven believes that Vincent Trocheck will end his much-too-long scoring slump on Saturday.
