You have to give it to Bednar. He has one of the best checking centers in the NHL in Nazem Kadri. It would be easy to just throw Kadri over the boards every time the Oilers put a player on the ice. It's pretty much why the Avs acquired Kadri in the first place.
It takes some balls to say that. Let's kick this pig!
Bednar matched his best against the best in the first game. Hockey doesn't really go for one-on-one battles between a team's two stars because of the unpredictable nature of the regular season and the team's usual indifference to matching up. Even when it does, the sport's culture doesn't like to focus on it. The league rarely gets two of its top players eyeballing each other for a quarter of a game. It was a treat. Bednar was rewarded with a win.
Bednar is not the first. The Flames tried the same with their top line, but watched as Leon Draisaitl and the rest of the team tore the injured defense into pieces. The one pair where both D-men can keep up with the speed of McDavid is the one that the Avs have. They were on the ice for most of his shifts.
The theory is that MacKinnon has the speed to catch McDavid on the backcheck if he has to, and more to the point, would keep the other team from playing defense. They could skate themselves out of the deep end without giving up the turnovers that they have feasted on.
Which they all did. When MacKinnon was on the ice, the Avs had 57 percent of their attempts. Toews and Makar did even better with their advantages in the Corsi and expected goals.
The difference came down to not only the Avs and Oilers top lines battling to a standstill, but Toews and Makar combining for one goal and five assists, while the Eskimos blue line only managed three assists.
If Josh Manson hadn't seen what it was like to spin around a baseball bat in the first two periods, this would have been a mismatch. He was responsible for the first three goals. The combination of injury and his natural state kept the Oilers around. Both starting goalies saw the end of the 2nd period, and Mike Smith was no better.
They're going to find it hard to fight off all the Avs' weapons, even though they can overcome a lot. There are too many forwards who can score, and when they don't, the Oilers will have to keep Toews and Makar on a leash, which no one else has been able to do. Maybe that will change when the series shifts toEdmonton and Jay Woodcroft can send out McDavid against other defenders, but then he will have to rely on his lesser forwards to watch over the Avs.
It will make for excellent television, and Bednar should be happy because he is playing with all of his toys. If you don't push the pedal to the floor, what's the point of being rich in speed and skill?
Hockey showcased how exciting it can be, but the day showed how fucked up the culture is. Mitchell Miller was voted the player of the year by the GMs of the USHL. When it became public that Miller had bullied a disabled classmate, the Coyotes had to give up the fuckstick that they had drafted.
Whether Miller was the best player in the league or not, it's not a great look to be holding this shitbird up as some sort of paragon of your league, wherever and whatever level it is. If the GMs of the league remember why Miller is in that league, it's unlikely they care.
Hockey has never been able to take more than one step forward.
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