Quote:
Originally Posted by Erick Estrada
This is key. Even an outsider like Stephen A. Smith can't understand how the Oilers went down so easy based on the prolific numbers McDavid put up in the regular season. The reality is McDavid simply didn't play well in the series. He was a ghost in the first two games and in the NHL you aren't going to draw penalties if you aren't dictating the pace of the game.
All I have heard from my Oilers buddies over the last 7 years is how Gaudreau isn't built for playoff hockey so I find it quite humorous they expect a small player to fight through the obstruction that their golden boy himself can't. I don't like how the NHL playoffs are officiated but it's been this way forever and this isn't new so McDavid either needs to find another gear in the playoffs or the Oilers are going to continue to be playoff fodder.
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It's funny how the narrative changes depending on the player. I remember feeling outraged after the Colorado series. It seemed the Flames couldn't get a call for any infraction. In the end, the Flames did it to themselves, but I remember a segment by Cassie Campbell where she highlighted some of the penalties against Johnny and dismissed them as "Playoff Hockey Johnny". This year the script completely flipped and Cassie does a segment highlighting all the non-calls on Connor McDavid with the entire panel in agreement. Totally opposite narrative.