Not today, gentlemen. McDavid froze the efforts of Los Angeles with five assists!

This is what it looks like when Connor McDavid gets a taste of the game. Los Angeles went into the first game of the series full of confidence. The past years have shown that the Kings can play a balanced game with Edmonton. But the Canadian superstar said a clear NO…

McDavid became the first player in 26 years since Geoff Courtnall to record five assists in a playoff game in 1998.

“He’s 95 points short of 100,” said Zach Hyman, who scored each goal of his hat trick on a primary assist from McDavid, with a smile, alluding to the regular season. “He’s an exceptional player. When he plays like that, he controls the game. He doesn’t need to score goals, he just holds everyone up and he held me up three times.”

McDavid is also the fourteenth player in NHL history to record at least five assists in a playoff game. Wayne Gretzky did it twice.

“We’ve got to do a better job against McDavid’s line, that’s for sure,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “He scored on the 5-on-5 game, not just on the power play. We have to fix that.”

McDavid picked up right where he left off in the regular season. The Kings weren’t bad, they scored four goals on the outdoor rink, but McDavid just had his day.

“They’ve got a great fade, they’ve been No. 1 all year, we have a lot of respect for them,” McDavid said. “But we were ready, we have great players on the power play. I think we were able to hit them in a few different ways, which is good because it forces them to solve more problems. With a few more things up our sleeve.”

With the win, the Oilers ended a seven-game losing streak. Edmonton hasn’t won a series opener since 2017!

“It doesn’t change the fact that you want to win every game,” McDavid shrugged. “We would like to win the second game, even if we lose today. Nothing changes. We have to start with the same vigor and fight.”

The key was that the Oilers got off to a good start. In the tenth minute it was 2:0, which completely paralyzes the opponent. “Starts are really important, especially against a well-organized team like the Kings,” the Oilers captain nodded.

Three goals from the power play, three for an even number of players. The Oilers entered it well. And if McDavid is going to be as successful as he was in the first game, the Kings have a lot to look forward to.

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