Skip to main content
hockey

Oilers centre Connor McDavid.Perry Nelson

With the Oilers rallying from three goals down in the second period, Connor McDavid made a play on Sunday night against the Anaheim Ducks that showed why he is the leading candidate to win the Hart Trophy.

First, he stole a puck from Sami Vatanen, a highly regarded Anaheim defenceman. Next, McDavid eluded a pursuing Vatanen by reversing course at high speed. Then he ripped a wrist shot over goalie John Gibson's shoulder into the far corner of the net.

The whole sequence took five seconds, and tied the game. It was one of McDavid's best goals of the season, and came with the stakes at their highest.

"The great players always seem to rise to that occasion," said Jeff Jackson, McDavid's agent with the Orr Hockey Group. "It's virtually impossible to make that cut at the speed with which he did [to get away from Vatanen]. There is not a player in the game that could have defended it."

The Oilers went on to lose to the Ducks, but maintain a 2-1 lead in the second-round Stanley Cup series heading into Wednesday night's playoff contest at Rogers Place. The fact that the Oilers didn't win does not invalidate the timing or execution of McDavid's play.

"It was a beautiful goal," Jackson said. "He doesn't get bogged down by pressure. He gets motivated by it."

The lone player in the NHL to score 100 points this year, McDavid was nominated on Monday for the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player, along with Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. McDavid was also nominated for the Ted Lindsay Award on Tuesday – along with San Jose defenceman Brent Burns and Crosby – given to the player deemed the most outstanding in the league in voting by fellow players.

For weeks, fans in Edmonton have chanted "MVP" whenever McDavid takes to the ice. They started again Sunday, seconds after he scored.

He is 20 and became the youngest captain in league history this year. If anything, instead of struggling under the weight of the responsibility, he exceeded expectations. Besides winning the scoring title, he led the Oilers to the postseason for the first time since 2006.

"It would be hard for me say that I expected this, but I have always believed in myself and recognized I was a good player," McDavid said. "I believed from a very young age that I would have success in this league.

"When I look back over my first two seasons, a lot of great things have happened."

It shouldn't be a surprise. McDavid was 15 when he entered the Ontario Hockey League and scored 66 points. The following year with the Erie Otters, he had 99 and would have easily topped 100 if not for taking time off to play with Canada's junior team. His final year, he had 120 points in only 47 games in a season shortened by a broken bone in his left pinky finger and more time with the Canadian team.

By the time the Oilers selected him with the first overall pick in the 2015 draft, he was already being likened to Crosby, his childhood hero growing up in Southern Ontario.

"This might sound strange, but I don't think Connor's defining moment this season happened while he was on the ice," said Todd McLellan, Edmonton's coach. "I think it happened the day he was told he was going to lead this group and a C was sewn on his jersey.

"When he accepted the role, he knew he was going to be at the forefront, and would have to produce more on a nightly basis and carry the spirit of the team. When you look at the effect he has had on our group and our results night after night, for him to be nominated for the Hart Trophy was a no-brainer."

Postseason included, McDavid has played 136 professional games, and has never gone more than two without a point. He has been guarded closely, but still has three goals and three assists during the playoffs.

The San Jose series was tied at two games when McDavid delivered a crushing check against Marcus Sorensen. After that hit in Game 5, the Sharks failed to win another.

"What he has done for this team, you can't put into words," Oilers goalie Cam Talbot said. "As he goes, we go.

"Sid Crosby turned around an organization, and now Connor is doing the same thing."

The Oilers stole home-ice advantage from the Ducks by winning the first two games at Honda Center. On Wednesday night, they will try to keep from giving it back. It won't be easy; they are coming off a 6-3 loss. Game 5 is in Anaheim on Friday night.

The Oilers are blessed to have the best player on the ice in McDavid, who seems to thrive in the most important moments. It gives them confidence night after night.

"From Game 1 to 82, I have thought he was the Hart Trophy front-runner, said Mark Letestu, a fellow centre for the Oilers. "What he provides for this team makes him the most valuable player."

Interact with The Globe