Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers have authored one of the most remarkable regular-season turnarounds in National Hockey League history this season.
After starting the 2023-24 campaign 5-12-1, the Oil have gone on an all-time heater, winning 24 of 27 games since Nov. 24 and racking off 16 straight victories. That has the team on the verge of tying the league's longest-ever winning streak, set by the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins.
McDavid shared a thoughtful answer when asked what he believes is the biggest change in the club over the last few months.
“We're playing a little bit of a different system than we've ever played here before, and we're getting comfortable in it,” the superstar asserted, per Sportsnet's Mark Spector. “You can see in the [defensive] zone, there seems to be way less running around. It's a lot calmer. And our D are playing amazing — all six of them. We’re getting great goaltending, the forwards are tracking back very well… We like our game.”
Obviously, whatever Edmonton is doing lately is working wonders. And although there has been a huge focus on the defensive side of the puck this year, the offense continues to run through McDavid and fellow superstar Leon Draisaitl.
Connor McDavid doesn't want anything except a Stanley Cup
But the 27-year-old McDavid doesn't care about the individual statistics.
“It's not one of those years where everyone's going to be writing about all these big numbers and stuff like that. But, we've been there and done that,” McDavid continued, per Spector.
“It's about being a part of something, and I think it's a good thing that no one's writing about Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl leading the way. Is it great to produce offensively? Of course, it is. But we want to be a part of something; we want to be part of a team and a group that can do some damage later in the year.”
Now at third place in the Pacific Division and just 12 points back of the Vancouver Canucks for the top spot in the Western Conference, there is serious belief this could be the season McDavid and Draisaitl bring a Stanley Cup to the city for the first time since 1990.
The Oilers hasn't lost since Dec. 19, and after the All-Star break in Toronto, they'll need just two consecutive victories to surpass the Pens and make an in-erasable mark on NHL history.
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