Connor McDavid puts aside expectations ahead of Game 6 against Florida

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Sunrise, Fla. — As the best player on the planet, Connor McDavid is the brightest star, and he would clearly move heaven and earth to drag this Stanley Cup final back to his Edmonton home for a Game 7 and a chance to lift the cherished mug over his head.

And as much as we drag out the yellowed cliché that hockey is a team game, that no one player can will a team to the Cup, nobody is under the suffocating pressure of expectations more than 97 to keep the dream alive Tuesday night in Game 6 with the Oilers down 3-2 to the Florida Panthers.

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Right?

“That’s a pretty heavy question,” said McDavid when pointedly put on the spot, never mind the pedestal, at a media session Monday after Oilers practice.

“I don’t think about it that way. If you think about it that way, you’d probably be pretty crippled in terms of how you prepare and how you play,” he said.

“It’s a big game, everybody knows that. I know that. And I’m looking forward to it,” said McDavid, who has the most points amongst active players in elimination contests (55 in 30 games) but unfortunately didn’t get anything in Game 7 last June 24 in Florida as hard as he tried.

“This is fun hockey, it’s been a fun series to be part of. The Cup will be in the building. These games are what you dream of. Obviously it’s not for us (just staying alive to fight another day in Edmonton) but anytime the Cup’s in the building and you’re playing…it’s a good sign.”

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And McDavid is right. The Cup was in the house in Game 5 last June, with the wives and other loved ones at Amerant Arena, but the Oilers spoiled the storyline here. They did the same in Game 6 at Rogers Place with the wives flown in for the party.

And Connor is right that it shouldn’t all fall on him. He’s got Leon Draisaitl, too. He has 51 points in the same 30 Oilers elimination games. Leon is certainly in the same constellation as McDavid as stars go. Just as Evgeni Malkin was to Sidney Crosby when the Penguins were trying to win their first Cup.

Yeah, let’s look at how that played out.

Back in 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins were down 3-2 to Detroit in the Cup final, just as the Oilers are today to the Panthers, and their captain, Sidney Crosby, was desperate to win his first championship, too.

And Sid did, but he didn’t have a point in Game 6 or Game 7.

Instead, Tyler Kennedy was the hero in Game 6 with the game-winner in a 2-1 result, and the fourth-line centre Max Talbot got the only two goals in the same 2-1 finish in Game 7. So, maybe Vasily Podkolzin will get the Oiler winner in Game 6 Tuesday and Mattias Janmark will pop two in Game 7, if it gets that far. As much as Crosby was under the gun, you can win without your best player being the best in Prime Time.

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But, let’s be realistic here. Can the Oilers beat back the Panthers Tuesday if McDavid can’t exorcise the demons from last year’s final heartbreak against Florida? Can the Oilers drag this series back to Rogers Place if McDavid isn’t McDavid in Game 6?

He has seven points (one goal, six assists) in the first five games, so he hasn’t been wrapped in a 200-foot straightjacket by Florida’s captain Sasha Barkov. But heavy wears the crown of the best player, who has to be the best player, you would think, Tuesday to keep Oilers from their long, sad faces once again. Right?

Heat on McDavid to perform

The heat’s on him, more than anybody else, isn’t it?

Oiler coach Kris Knoblauch won’t go there, taking the longer road philosophy.

“Connor is just focused on playing his best, whether it’s the Stanley Cup elimination game or an afternoon one, mid-season, whatever it is. He’s always focused on bringing his best and that’s propelled him to the career he’s had,” said Knoblauch.

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“What separates him from everybody else is his drive, his goal is to be the best player on the ice. He doesn’t always want to be acknowledged for that but being the best player is what drives him. I’m sure he wants to be the best player next game, too,” said Knoblauch, who has always felt McDavid has that leadership gene.

“He’s always had that going back to when I first met him and he was 15 years old and an underage junior in the Ontario Hockey League,” said Knoblauch, who was behind the Erie Otters bench. “Even at that age, you could see the respect the players had for them, not that he was the most vocal. It was his work ethic, his attention to detail, wanting to be the best player possible.”

“There could have been some jealousy or whatever, but they looked at how hard he worked at his game. And as he’s gotten older, you become more comfortable at being a leader and you build that rapport with all the players. He’s got so much respect from players because of the acknowledgement of the other players’ contributions.”

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The Oilers’ other Connor, No. 28 Brown, flat-out doesn’t want this all on the captain’s head. Even if everybody back in Edmonton is saying, “We’ve got the best player in the world and they don’t.”

But we’ll give Brown his due. Hockey is different from hoops.

Indeed, the NBA’s MVP, Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, plays 82 percent of the game, which is about 39 minutes out of a regulation 48. In the NHL, McDavid is averaging 24 1/2 minutes a game in the playoffs, but three of those games have gone past 60 minutes into OT. Normally over 60, in the regular season, 97 only averaged 22 minutes a game, so he’s playing a third of the game.

“Hockey is a different sport. It’s a team-oriented sport. You’re not gonna win with one guy, not even close. I mean, you need everyone pulling on the rope,” he said.

But Connor needs to win a Cup for his legacy, doesn’t he?

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“Yeah, I mean that’s why we’re all here,” said Brown.

“Only one guy can do so much, and he’s done as much as anyone man can do. And I’m sure that pressure is one thing, but Connor’s going to have fun with this game (six) as well…I mean, he loves these moments, you’ve seen it over his career. He always rises to the occasion,” said Brown.

Heck, maybe it’ll be the other Connor, not McDavid, in Game 6. Anybody can be a hero. Like Tyler Kennedy was against the Cup champion Red Wings 16 years ago..

“When you get to the finals, it’s usually the two best teams, and the two best teams usually have some of the best players, and they’re going up against each other. So a lot of the times, it trickles down the lineup, and you’re gonna need depth to come up big,” said Brown.

Florida captain can relate

The Florida captain Barkov probably knows what McDavid’s going through more than anybody else in this Stanley Cup final because he wears the C on his jersey and he has a Cup ring, plus as the league’s best two-way player, his job has been to make 97’s life as frustrating and ultimately miserable as possible.

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He knows how badly McDavid wants a celebration like Barkov had last June.

“He’s an unbelievable player, probably the best player of our generation,” he said.

No argument from Matthew Tkachuk, who has probably seen 97 more than any of his teammates, though going back to their Battle of Alberta days. He knows about his furnace-like desire.

“He’s desperate to win a Cup, but so are we,” said Tkachuk. “We’re all here for a reason, but Connor’s obviously a talent like nobody else here.”

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