EDMONTON, Alberta — Connor McDavidHe has scored 18 points in 11 career game against the Penguins, so it would be disingenuous to suggest Pittsburgh’s blue line is particularly well-versed in shutting down hockey’s greatest player.
McDavid destroyed the Penguins last season. McDavid’s two Edmonton wins were a testament to his brilliance. He had six assists and two goals in four-point games.
McDavid, the Penguins’ new scout, is available to them again OilersMonday night in Edmonton
What lessons have they learned?
Pittsburgh’s defensemen weighed in on what makes McDavid special and how the Penguins will try to slow him on Monday.
‘We have to be on our toes’
McDavid, hockey’s fastest man, tortured the Penguins in transition last season. McDavid, hockey’s fastest man, is at his most on the rush. The Penguins need to be ready.
“He’s incredibly fast,” Jan Rutta said. “And he knows it.”
So how can you stop McDavid’s rush to get ahead?
“He’s so much different than anyone else,” Marcus Pettersson explained. “You must respect his speed, of course. It’s his speed that opens things up for everyone else.”
Face to face with McDavid can be a challenge. Pettersson stated that one level of being conservative is necessary.
“You’re done if he gets behind you,” Pettersson said. “You just can’t let that happen. So sometimes you have to stay back.”
But …
“So, you have to respect that speed,” Pettersson continued. “It’s his speed that opens things up for everyone else. But the thing about him is, he really kills you when you’re backing up. We must still keep our eyes on the forward. You can’t be too passive. It’s not easy, but you have to try. He must be aggressive. You must be intelligent. We have to be on our toes.”
McDavid racing through a neutral zone is the best hockey theater. For a defenseman, it’s also daunting.
“It’s a one-of-a-kind type of speed,” Pettersson said. “He doesn’t look like anyone else. He is different from everyone else. We often discuss the goal that we have, which it is to stop him speeding up. On the rush, he’s so effective. He got three or four good chances to rush last season and that turned into two goals. So, the goal is to keep him in front of us at all times and to not allow him to generate the kind of speed that he wants.”
‘You can’t cheat’
McDavid is arguably the game’s greatest playmaker. Like Sidney Crosby, he’s more of a pass-first player.
Crosby can also beat you with his shot, just like Crosby. In three of his seven NHL seasons, he has scored more than 40 goals.
He must be honest about his defensive efforts, as guessing will only get you so far.
“It’s tough with him,” Dumoulin said. “He doesn’t have any weaknesses in his game, really. You can force some guys to play on their backhand, or something similar. This guy is different. He’s literally good at everything. He’s obviously a very good goal-scorer, so it’s not like you can just play pass when he has the puck. If you do that on a two-on-one, you know, he’s got a great shot and he’s not afraid to use it.”
Jeff Petry said it’s fruitless to make assumptions about what McDavid will do.
“We all know about the speed, but it’s more than that with him,” Petry said. “You can’t cheat. He can score and pass the puck. And the thing about him is, if you cheat, he’ll feel it and then will make the right decision. He’s that smart. You know going into the game that he’s different than other players. And even though you respect the speed, it’s so much more than that. It’s how he thinks the game. When he sees you asleep for a moment, he loves to draw people back. He does that when he changes speeds and he’s very good at it. So, there’s plenty to be aware of.”
It’s hard enough to keep up with McDavid, but mind games can be just as frustrating.
Rutta only has one rule.
“You can’t get flat-footed,” he said. “That’s when he really kills you. When you start thinking too much, it happens. He knows how to get the puck at full speed and he’s so good at making a defenseman flat-footed. When that happens, you’re in trouble. It takes a whole group to play defensively against him. You must also ensure your legs are always moving. You’re flat-footed against him? Good luck.”
Dumoulin would prefer to avoid McDavid’s odd-man rushes. If it happens, though, he believes he’ll be prepared.
“On odd-man rushes, he’s always threatening something,” McDavid said. “That’s the hard thing about playing against him. If he’s going to pass, he will still threaten shot the entire time. If he’s going to shoot, he still threatens pass the whole time. It’s incredibly hard to get a read on him. You want to bait him a little bit, at least as much as he’s baiting you.”
‘We must take care of the puck’
McDavid’s best defense is to force him to retreat and take the puck from his territory.
For any team, it’s a goal to get the puck in deep. Against the Oilers, it’s a requirement.
“We must take care of the puck,” Dumoulin said. “And it’s more than just that. You have to be aware of when he’s on the ice, for one thing. Reading the play against McDavid is especially important.”
The Penguins love to activate their defensemen and pinch them on a daily basis. In this meeting, it might not be.
“We can’t just be giving him odd-man rushes all night,” Dumoulin said. “Way too much of that last season. And one way to do that is to not pinch, especially when he’s on the ice. For me, my motto against him is that I’d like to live to fight another day. I think, when he’s on the ice, it probably makes a lot of sense for defensemen playing against him to hang back a little bit.”
Pettersson believes that the Oilers should be playing Jack CampbellIn one sense, the Penguins could have an advantage in goal. Mike Smith, Edmonton’s goalie last season, is one of the great puck-handling goalies in NHL history.
“It was different with Smith there,” Pettersson said. “You wanted to be smart and get the puck deep. But you couldn’t because of Smith. He was so good at playing the puck, he would just spring them on an odd-man rush every time.”
This setup might be slightly different. Perhaps.
“Campbell is good with the stick too,” Pettersson said. “But maybe it’s something we can take advantage of.”
In each of their past three first periods, the Penguins have been terrible. This must change quickly, and McDavid’s watch will be a top priority.
“Look at our last few opening periods,” Petry said. “The biggest thing with those bad starts was our puck management. So, especially who we are playing against in this one, puck management is going to be a very important thing.”
It seems that McDavid defense requires an entire village.
“It really does take all five people on the ice,” Rutta said. “You better be committed to slowing him down.”
(Photo: Charles LeClaire / USA Today)
