The Oilers maybe could’ve tricked themselves into believing they were still in the playoff hunt if they had won Wednesday night, as two points would have kept them dead even with the newly optimistic Chicago Blackhawks in the wild card chase. Instead, they lost 6-3 at home to the New Jersey Devils—who had lost seven straight and were full of injuries—and it only reinforced how Connor McDavid’s being squandered in Edmonton.
McDavid reached 100 points with a pair of assists in the loss, becoming the second player this season to hit the mark after the Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov. In three full seasons, this is his third time getting the century tally. He’s the first guy to do it three times before his 23rd birthday since Sidney Crosby, and he’s now the only active player to do it in three straight seasons besides Alex Ovechkin.
McDavid alone keeps the Oilers from being a complete waste of space. Among what’s wrong with the team includes:
- Mikko Koskinen, the 30-year-old former KHL goaltender who hadn’t played in North America in eight years, received a three-year, $13.5 million deal from the Oilers after playing just 25 games for them. He was yanked halfway through Wednesday’s loss.
- Milan Lucic, who’s signed until 2023, has five goals this season and hasn’t scored since Jan. 19. But at least that $6 million cap hit is got them a lengthy fights last night.
- In December, the team inexplicably traded young forward Drake Caggiula for Brandon Manning, a defenseman who injured Connor McDavid in his rookie year. Manning is now getting healthy scratches on his AHL team.
- One of the names getting tossed around for Edmonton’s vacant GM job is washed-up Red Wings boss Ken Holland. Lord help that team if he’s actually hired, but the fact that it’s even a plausible possibility is devastating enough.
McDavid will keep playing through it all, logging exhausting amounts of ice time (26:40 in last night’s regulation loss!) as he racks up multi-point games to no avail. Just for fun, let’s remember a good McDavid goal against the Flyers from February, where he burns past practically the entire opposing team and then beats the goalie with a laser.
Only seven more years until he becomes a free agent.