Quote:
Originally Posted by GioforPM
Debrusk last night was talking about the Oilers and all their supposed firepower on the power play. Why is this myth perpetuated? They have one elite player and one very good one, along with another forward who is about the level of Backlund offensively. They have no decent point man and then they stick Chiasson in front of the net, which is fine, but not exactly a high skill position.
Their fail is that they can enter fine, with McDavid carrying, but once he's there and didn't score on the rush, he's no better than the top guy on most teams. And when he kicks it to the point, teams can relax because they aren't doing anything with it.
Calgary's powerplay isn't good, but I take the personnel over Edmonton's first unit. Gaudreau can distribute as well as McDavid off of a cycle. Monahan shoots at least as well as Draisaitl and they also have Lindholm who is a hybrid of Monahan and Gaudreau. Gio is way better than their defencemen and Tkachuk versus Chiasson is laughable.
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Last night on CHED they were rationalizing McDavid's embellishment penalty.
I forget if it was Rob Brown or Reid Wilkins who said:
"McDavid and Crosby are the two strongest players on their feet in the NHL" or some other garbage like that.
That is absurd, they play completely different games.
They said the refs know this so, it's why when McDavid goes down easy they have to call it, because they know he's so strong.
Uhmm... ok.. whatever.
McDavid is a great player, but his strength is not being strong on his feet or his edges. Crosby moves and digs in his edges like no other. He grinds in the corner and makes plays if need be. McDavid has elite hockey sense, but no ability to grind with a low centre of gravity and use his body strength to fend off and utilize defenders in the corners or on the wall to make plays.
What I find the most absurd about the notion is that they are mutually exclusive. McDavid's strength is speed both forward and lateral to deceive defenders put them on their heels because he could go any direction at any time and make a play... or burn them.
His speed is literally dependent on touching and digging as little ice as possible to reduce friction on his glide and maximize push optimally. It's counter-intuitive to being strong on your skates. That's why he went into the corner and busted his collarbone.
Additionally, strength on your skates requires a body type like Crosby with lower body muscle mass not a slight build like McDavid. It's simple physics.