Connor McDavid’s Game 5 mission statement: ‘Drag them back to Alberta’

The Edmonton Oilers are still alive in the Stanley Cup Final. Connor McDavid scored four points in a record-setting performance in Game 4. Now his team returns to Sunrise to take on the Florida Panthers in Game 5. However, Edmonton is down 3-1 in the series. But McDavid is a determined man heading into Tuesday’s game.

The Oilers captain attended a press conference with Leon Draisaitl on Saturday evening. A reporter asked him if he believed the team’s eight goals in Game 4 changed his view of the series. McDavid was quite blunt in his answer, while providing a clear mission statement for Game 5.

“No, I do not think so. It’s just one win, that’s all,” the Oilers captain said via Sportsnet. “It doesn’t matter if you score eight or one. It’s just one win. We have to go to Florida and do a job and tow them back to Alberta.”

Connor McDavid makes playoff history

McDavid was on fire for the Oilers in Game 4. He scored a huge goal in the second period to make it a 4-1 game. And on Saturday night he added three assists to his point total. However, his third-period assist on Dylan Holloway’s goal etched his name in Stanley Cup Playoff history. No player in NHL history has recorded more assists in a single postseason than the Oilers captain.

McDavid is only the second player in league history to record 30 or more assists in a single postseason. The other is Wayne Gretzky, who accomplished the feat three times with the Oilers. Gretzky held the previous assist record after making 31 helpers during the 1988 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

McDavid now has six goals and 38 points this postseason. He has a legitimate shot at becoming the first 40-point postseason scorer since 1993. Gretzky was the last to do so, having done so three times. The most recent occurrence occurred in 1993. Pittsburgh Penguins legend Mario Lemieux also had a 40-plus point postseason, scoring 44 points in 1991.

Of course, these numbers are otherworldly. McDavid really cements his legacy within the NHL. But he recognizes that for most players, cementing your legacy requires a Stanley Cup. And to achieve that, work certainly needs to be done.

A comfortable situation

Being on the brink of elimination inherently creates stress within a team. You work so hard to achieve a certain goal, but all that work goes up in smoke in no time. The Oilers are no strangers to having their backs against the wall. This may be why they found solace in their predicament on Saturday night.

“We are a unique club. I think we feel most comfortable with our backs against the wall. That’s pretty much what we showed at the beginning of the year, when we were dead last. Our backs were against the wall and we came out and had some historic runs. So I think we’re a unique club in that regard,” said Edmonton forward Connor Brown, via Sportsnet.

The Oilers certainly looked like the team many expected heading into the Stanley Cup Final. And now it’s up to them to continue this momentum. Their backs remain against the wall even after their incredible victory on Saturday night. Connor McDavid will lead his team into Tuesday night’s Game 5 battle with the Panthers, with puck drop at 8:00 PM Eastern Time.