Oilers’ Connor McDavid Is Unstoppable, Stuart Skinner’s Good Answer and Evan Bouchard’s Downside

When Connor McDavid is at his best, he is virtually unstoppable. His wheels are too fast, his hands are too fast, and his brain processes the game at a level superior to anyone except Gretzky. The captain was buzzing at that higher level on Tuesday against the Senators. For most of the 22:08 of ice time, McDavid was essentially free to do whatever he wanted with the puck on his stick, which understandably caused Ottawa a lot of problems. Considering how eager he was, one could almost consider it unlucky to score “only” two goals.

With 15 points (6G, 9A) in his last six games, Connor McDavid is starting to go supernova, which is huge news for an Oilers team that is still struggling to score goals. Dynamic Duo aside, Edmonton is hungry for goals, which means the captain has to drag everyone else along with him more than he’d like. However, when he plays as lethally as he does now, it’s not hard to imagine that he can win games on his own. Even though he didn’t have to do it last night, McDavid was so good against the Sens that you’d think his teammates would have been inspired by what they were watching. That’s what greatness can do.

GOOD COMING FOR STUART SKINNER

Stuart Skinner has had his ups and downs over the course of his first 13 appearances, and although it’s still quite early, we’re getting to the point where he needs to start stringing together some quality performances. While the Ottawa Senators may not be an offensive force or anything like that, they are still a team with some weapons and it will take some good goaltending to avoid a third straight loss. From start to finish, Skinner provided just that for his teammates.

Although Skinner wasn’t as busy as his counterpart in the first 40 minutes, he was involved in a big way in the third minute. The game was virtually out of reach by that point, but that didn’t stop the Sens from putting more pucks on net in the third period than at any other point. Even with plenty of support on the board, Skinner remained consistent until the end and earned a .931 save percentage, his best since Nov. 3 against the Calgary Flames.

I’m not saying one win and a good performance means everything is fine, but I hope Skinner can take some confidence from a consistent night in the crease. Stu is at his best when he’s calm in front of goal and honest with his shots, and last night’s win was as secure as he’s looked lately. I know it’s going to take more than one game to get some people to move on from him, but I still have full faith that he’s up to the challenge and get his season back on track.

LET’S TALK ABOUT EVAN BOUCHARD… AGAIN

Sports are fun, aren’t they? Evan Bouchard has been a big story here lately, including back-to-back games where his lack of back-checking and poor decision-making may or may not have directly contributed to the three goals. Bouchard will never be a defensive wizard – he’s not – but the way he’s gotten himself into bad situations lately is especially bad even for him. At the most basic level, we simply expect and demand more from him.

The disappointing thing for those of us who love this player is that he is playing much better than he has lately. For me, it’s a product of confidence, or lack thereof. Then he comes out and scores his goal – one of the best you’ll ever see – along with a couple of assists, and that should be a reminder of why we need to be patient with him. Just because he looks 40 doesn’t mean last night wasn’t just his 285th career game. At 25 years old, Bouchard still has a lot to learn, although the team is definitely going to overpay him.

I guess what I’m saying is that Evan Bouchard will never be a perfect defenseman, but when he’s at his best and feeling confident, there are very few other defensemen in the league who can put up points like he can. When it comes to what his next contract looks like, management will have to make a decision on how much they are willing to pay him, knowing the flaws that come with his attacking brilliance. I think the answer will depend on how many three-point nights he has, like he did Tuesday in Ottawa, and how much those nights allow everyone else to forget about everyone else.