Carpe Diem. Sh*t or get off the pot. Less talk/more action. These all apply to the way Connor McDavid grabbed the moment and never let go in Game 2 of the Oiler second round Stanley Cup playoff series. It seems like it is getting to be the same old story every playoff year in Edmonton – beat the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, and then get scared of success and stop playing in the further rounds (with the exception of the Oilers’ second round victory over the Calgary Flames in the 2022 Playoffs). That’s what it seemed like after Game 1 against the Canucks when the Oilers blew a 4-1 lead and though he was trying, McDavid looked ineffective for many reasons, including a strong game plan to shut him down from Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet. After that devastating Game 1 loss, I questioned the rhetoric coming out of the Oilers dressing room, wondering what new excuses I would hear this postseason. But then McDavid stepped it up in Game 2.
