The Penguins got a good look at Connor McDavid’s speed early on Tuesday night.
And then they got another.
McDavid broke loose for a pair of assists on odd-man rushes in the first period of the Penguins’ 4-3 win against the Oilers Tuesday night. He added a third assist early in the second when his mere presence on the breakaway was enough to distractive Penguins defenseman Brain Dumoulin and give Jordan Eberle an easy walk-in goal.
When Sidney Crosby was asked after the game if it was fun going up against McDavid, a fellow former first-round pick, for the first time, he responded, “Yeah, after the first [period].”
The Penguins came back and won, in no small part because they got better at limiting McDavid’s opportunities as the game went on.
Coach Mike Sullivan said the Penguins coaching staff constantly reminded their players to make McDavid, as well as linemates Eberle and Patrick Maroon, play a 200-foot game, and not give them quick chances for odd-man rushes off of turnovers or missed shots.
“I thought as the game went on, we did a better job there,” Sullivan said. “We held on to pucks in the offensive zone, we didn’t start their breakouts when we had opportunities to put the puck on the net. We hit the net more, we didn’t miss the net as much and as a result, we didn’t feed that transition game as much.”
Defenseman Justin Schultz had seen McDavid up close during his tenure in Edmonton, but going against him was a new challenge entirely.
“I’ve seen it firsthand,” Schultz said. “I’ve practiced him, played with him and he’s a very special player. He’s got some speed that’s tough to defend. He’s going to have a great career.”
Up front, the Penguins spent a large portion of the game matching Crosby’s top line — with wingers Carl Hagelin and Patric Hornqvist — against McDavid’s unit.
Sure, it’s what the fans want to see. But Sullivan said there’s also a hockey element to that matchup.
“We go power against power a lot,” Sullivan said. “I think Sid’s such a great two-way player, he can play at both ends of the rink and one of the things that we like about it is because Sid is so dynamic and has the puck and is so strong on the puck, it forces other teams’ top players to have to defend, and they have to expend energy defending him.”
Crosby, for his part, said he doesn’t mind going up against opponents’ top lines when called upon. It’s a departure from his normal matchups, but each night brings different challenges.
“You have these different matchups, sometimes you’re playing against a line trying to shut you down, and that’s equally as challenging,” Crosby said. “You have to compete that way, too. When you’re playing a line that’s trying to create offense, you just have to be a little bit more aware defensively and trust that you’ll get your chances if they’re trying to create offense themselves.”
And even Crosby admitted he was impressed seeing McDavid’s speed in person Tuesday night.
“It’s one thing to kind of watch games and see it,” he said. “Out there, you can tell that he really needs no time and space at all. If you’re even with him, you’re in big trouble, so you better make sure you’re a step ahead.”
Sam Werner: swerner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @SWernerPG
First Published: November 9, 2016, 4:11 a.m.
