Connor McDavid, Oilers roll past Blackhawks ahead of bye week
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10 observations: McDavid, Oilers roll past Hawks originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Blackhawks were routed by the Edmonton Oilers 7-3 at Rogers Place on Saturday in their final game before the bye week and All-Star break.
Here are 10 observations from the loss:
1. The first half of this game was pretty even, at least at even strength. It tilted heavily in Edmonton’s favor in the second period, where the Oilers scored four unanswered goals, including three in a span of 2:33. Things escalated quickly, and the Blackhawks couldn’t stop the bleeding.
2. The Blackhawks were 22-for-23 on the penalty kill over their previous eight games for a success rate of 95.7 percent. They went 1-for-3 against the Oilers, who have a hilariously lethal power play. No shame there if you’re Chicago.
3. Connor McDavid had a ho-hum three-point outing with a goal and two assists. He has nine points (five goals, four assists) in three games this season against the Blackhawks, who fortunately don’t have to see him again until next season. McDavid is at 92 points going into the bye week. The next-closest player? His teammate Leon Draisaitl with 76 points. Freak of nature.
4. Sam Lafferty dropped the gloves with Brett Kulak in the second period, and Lafferty seemed genuinely confused about why Kulak wanted to fight. It was a clean hit. The only thing I can think of is that Kulak thought it was late, which is fair. But it wasn’t egregious. Nonetheless, it felt like the game changed after this fight.
5. During 5-on-5 action, the Blackhawks allowed 40 scoring chances and 23 high-danger chances, per Natural Stat Trick, which are both new season highs. For reference, the Blackhawks’ per-60-minute average in scoring chances against is 32.8 and high-danger chances against is 13.1.
6. Jonathan Toews returned to the lineup after missing Thursday’s game with a non-COVID illness. He wasn’t too noticeable outside of scoring a power-play goal in the third period, and that’s because he was…
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