Oilers Takeaways: McDavid leads the way in beatdown of Mammoth
This, friends, was a beatdown.
It was a lesson meted out by the old dog to the new pups, those upstarts from Utah who had walked into Edmonton on Thursday and won 4-2, handing the Oilers their first regulation loss.
Just in case the Mammoth players were thinking, “We can handle these guys,” the Edmonton Oilers gave them something else to think about.
Connor McDavid opened his five-point night with a goal just 40 seconds into the game, and the Oilers took a 5-0 lead into the third period en route to a 6-2 shellacking. It was never close to being close — not for a second was the result in doubt.
“We came ready to play,” pronounced Oilers head coach Mike Babcock, who like Zach Hyman opened his post-game briefing with prayers for the folks in Wainwright, Alberta. “(Utah) had just beaten us, we’re in their building on a Saturday night, and anytime somebody beats you — anytime you're playing someone back to back, — you’ve got to get to another level the next (night).
“We clearly did that.”
Two nights after he’s played nearly 26 minutes, McDavid’s ice time came down to a manageable 19:52 in this one.
“I just think everybody's involved,” Hyman said. “I don't know what the minutes were tonight, but it felt like we were turning lines over pretty quickly, and all four lines contributed. When you do that, and........
