The title was even weird to type in. Connor McDavid, the face of the franchise itself, the reason why the Edmonton Oilers dropped this afternoon's game 6-3 to the Dallas Stars?
But numbers do not lie. McDavid was minus-2 against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, and minus-2 again today against the Stars, despite a goal and two assists.
According to the Athletic, McDavid "set up Oilers' and Stars' goals alike in his first game without Leon Draisaitl" The Oilers thought it would generate more goals to split both top forwards, but the captain has become a defensive liability.
“He’s on the ice for 23, 24, 25 minutes per night,” McLellan told media after the game. “He’s exposed to more mistakes than most players are. He plays in every situation. Those players have to be allowed to create at times and have the freedom to make plays; 99 percent of the time they’re made, sometimes it doesn’t work that way."
Mark Spector of Sportsnet added that McDavid is not fulfilling his role as the Oilers' best player.
"Your best player has to be just that — at both ends of the rink — to have success. And the Oilers aren’t having much of that this season."
Hopefully, the Oilers and McDavid can adjust and clean up the poor puck management that has crept into his game.
