Written by Andrew Schlager at Sporting News.com
Hockey’s not officially back until the Connor McDavid highlight reel starts rolling. Well, he’s hit fast forward.
The Oilers’ wunderkind habitually embarrassed Flames defenders throughout Wednesday night’s season opener in Edmonton, dazzling with no fewer than a half dozen breakaways and completing a hat trick in the 3-0 win. It was McDavid’s second goal that reminded why he’s the reigning NHL MVP and scoring champion.
In the third period, McDavid pounced on a loose puck in the neutral zone and pretty much everyone knew what was coming next. He turned on his patented afterburners, burst into the open ice and around a helpless T.J. Brodie, and was off to the races. With ease, he fooled Mike Smith, who stood on his head to that point, and beat the Flames’ veteran netminder glove side with a twitch and a flick.
Connor McDavid’s second of the night is a thing of beauty. pic.twitter.com/Dj5BraZ1Gx
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 5, 2017
Here’s Connor McDavid’s second goal with a speedometer attached. 41 km/h (25.4 mph) by the end of it, how the hell do you stop that? pic.twitter.com/cLXN3qp4d9
— Jeff Veillette (@JeffVeillette) October 5, 2017
It’s not that the Flames are porous defensively. The opposite is true; they’re one of the NHL’s best units. That makes McDavid’s hat-trick opener all the more impressive.
McDavid opened the scoring in the first period when sidekick Leon Draisaitl fed a shot into Smith’s pads, leaving a juicy rebound for No. 97 to bury netside. He completed the troika in the game’s final minute with Smith on the bench and the Flames’ net empty.
It’s the first opening-night hat trick in Oilers franchise history.
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