Connor McDavid Defensive Adjustments Propelling Edmonton Oilers

As the Edmonton Oilers prepare for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night against the Florida Panthers, one thing stands out: the Oilers have the best player in the world, Connor McDavid.

McDavid is known for putting up offensive numbers, which he did this regular season, but his buy-in to playing defence is remarkable.

It was always about when McDavid would get to a Stanley Cup Final. Well, he is here in his ninth season in the NHL. But we need to go back to when John Tortorella, then on ESPN and now the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, was highly criticized for saying t Connor McDavid needed to tweak his game in the playoffs to win.

“I do think he has to change his game a bit. Not turn into a checker, obviously. He’s talked about culture, he’s talked about standards, he’s talked about winning. You’re not just going to fill the net during the playoffs and outscore teams. You have to play on the other side of the puck,” Tortorella said on ESPN. “You have to have that business-type attitude of, ‘Nothing’s going to bother me, no matter how you’re going to check me. Don’t talk about it, just play hard, play through it, but the other side of the puck is that important too come playoff time.”

Again, Tortorella was criticized for these comments; however, he was not wrong. As Dave McCarthy of NHL.com and Sirius XM NHL Network Radio told Full Press Hockey, that is what Connor McDavid has done.

As he suggests, the Oilers can win low-scoring games now in the playoffs and not just rely on McDavid or Leon Draisaitl to produce goals. Instead, they are playing a low-scoring grind-it-out game. That is what Game 6 of the Western Conference Final was against the Dallas Stars when the Oilers were outshot 35-10.

As Full Press Hockey has documented, credit has to go to Kris Knoblauch for getting McDavid and company to play defense. Remember, Knoblauch came in back in November without a training camp. The fact that he is getting a player of McDavid’s stature to buy into his system and commit to playing a tight, patient brand of defense says something about his respect for Knoblauch.

But it reminds me of what good coaching can do. Remember when Hall of Fame coach Ken Hitchcock took over with the Dallas Stars? Mike Modano only knew how to play one way. Hitchcock got him to play defense, commit to a two-way game, and become a better player. The Stars lifted a Stanley Cup in 1999.

Something similar is happening with the Edmonton Oilers.

“Connor has bought in to become a solid player in all aspects of his game,” said Avry Lewis-McDougall of the Hockey News told Full Press Hockey.” And again, it’s why I see he’s the best player in the League, and if Connor McDavid, I mean, I wouldn’t want, if I’m Kris Knoblauch, I wouldn’t him blocking shots at all in the Stanley Cup Final. If we were to see that it would just show how much more he’s bought in as well.”

We documented the Edmonton Oilers struggles with defense this season. But those defensive struggles have turned around because of new head coach Kris Knoblauch. And when a star player like Connor McDavid buys into playing a defensive style, now he understands what it takes to win in the playoffs.

Recall all the disappointing losses for the Oilers. It started with the Winnipeg Jets in 2021. Then, they lost to the Colorado Avalanche in 2022. Last year, the Vegas Golden Knights knocked the Oilers out of the playoffs. Edmonton was just relying on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisatil. But their defensive game was not that strong.

The Oilers can play these tight, low-scoring games now. Playing prevent defence against the Florida Panthers might be tricky, but when you have the best player in the world on your team, the Oilers have a shot at winning.

It will be interesting to see how these teams match up and what the Florida Panthers do to slow down Connor McDavid. But expect McDavid to take his game to another level as he has been waiting for this moment for a long time.