The Edmonton Oilers lost 4-0 to the Florida Panthers at home, stumbling against the team that has beaten them in the Stanley Cup in two consecutive seasons. Connor McDavid, like his teammates, failed to score, and the Oilers blew a chance to move up the standings. It brought up an interesting stat from Sportsnet Stats showing how the Oilers fare when their star does not score.
“Oilers fall to 0-10-2 this season when Connor McDavid fails to collect a point,” Sportsnet Stats wrote on X.
McDavid has 37 goals and 78 assists this season, leading the NHL with 115 points. But the team has struggled mightily when he fails to score. The Oilers fell 7-2 to the Dallas Stars just over a week ago, and McDavid failed to score. When the team lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs a few weeks ago, McDavid did not register a point, and no one on the top two lines did either.
With Leon Draisaitl out for the rest of the regular season, there is more pressure on McDavid to shoulder the load. The common factor in most of these games has been the opposing teams' early scoring. In this case, the Panthers struck with a goal in the middle of the first, and then at the end. When they played the Stars, they allowed a goal 1:23 into the contest and were behind 3-0 after the first period.
Even when Draisaitl was healthy and available, the Oilers have had mixed results when falling behind early. Currently, they are 20-14-6 in games when they allow the first goal. But all 20 comeback wins involved McDavid generating the rally. When he does not, the Oilers look like a team that cannot overcome the obstacles. The Oilers' next game will be Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning at home.
