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How Rangers plan to cope with Connor McDavid as Oilers come to MSG
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- How Rangers plan to cope with Connor McDavid as Oilers come to MSG
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There's little dispute that shutting Connor McDavid has been the primary focus of the New York Rangers ' coaching staff as the Blueshirts prepare to welcome the NHL's most dynamic scorer and the rest of the Edmonton Oilers to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.
It's an early trip to the New York area for the Oilers, who are 1-0-1 this season and have won three in a row and five of their past six at Madison Square Garden. McDavid had a goal on March 16 when Edmonton beat the Rangers 3-1, giving him nine goals and 23 points in 15 games against them since he entered the NHL in 2015.
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McDavid is a unicorn – a combination of size, speed and skill unlike any other player in the NHL today. He has enough individual awards to fill an entire room, although No. 97 and his teammates have come up short against the Florida Panthers in each of the past two Stanley Cup Finals.
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Rangers coach Mike Sullivan knows that his team has to be conscious of McDavid on every shift.
"I think you have to have a heightened awareness when he's on the ice," he said after the morning skate. "The biggest difference that makes Connor so unique is the speed at which he executes plays out there. Anytime we have an opportunity to limit his speed and deny him the opportunity to get the puck in stride.
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While McDavid is arguably still the fastest player in the NHL, what impressed Sullivan even more is his hockey IQ and speed of execution.
"It's just how fast he can execute plays with the puck, whether it be on the rush or in the zone," he said. "We're going to have to have a curtained heightened awareness when he's on the ice, without a doubt."
Rangers must shut down Connor McDavid to beat Oilers
The Rangers will need a big night from goaltender Igor Shesterkin , who has allowed just two goals in his first three starts. Shesterkin has faced the Oilers just three times in his career, and the results haven't been pretty – he's 1-2-0 with a 3.65 goals-against average and a save percentage of just .869. He was the loser in the Oilers' victory at MSG last March, as well as a 4-3 defeat at the Garden on Nov. 26, 2022, that saw the Rangers blow a 3-0 lead in the third period.
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The Oilers, especially McDavid and longtime running mate Leon Draisaitl , are known for playing a fast-paced style. Sullivan said there are different kinds of speed, but what makes the Oilers unique is having superstars like McDavid and Draisaitl who think the game as fast as they skate.
"There's physical foot speed, there's team speed, your ability to change the point of attack and move the puck, being connected on breakouts, things of that nature. They help your team speed. Then there's mind speed or intellectual speed, your ability to process the game quickly. Windows of opportunity open and close quickly, so you can anticipate on both sides of the puck to try to take advantage. Speed, in all its forms, for me is a real competitive advantage in today's game.
"Edmonton, what makes them unique, is that they have a couple of players that not only do they have the physical foot speed that makes them hard to defend against, but they also think the game on a really high level to take advantage or exploit opportunity when it presents itself. That's what makes them unique."
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Even more unique is when the Oilers use Draisaitl on McDavid's line, rather than splitting them up.
"They're dangerous when they're together," Sullivan said. "The downside is that they lose a little bit of balance in their lineup – as an opponent, you can try to key on one line instead of two, whether it be defense pairs, line combinations, whatever it may be. I'm sure their coaching staff is always weighing that decision, just like the rest of us do with our lineups."
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