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Along the Boards: McDavid blitzes Blackhawks en route to 6–3 decision

  
Along the Boards: McDavid blitzes Blackhawks en route to 6–3 decision
Connor McDavid celebrates his third goal of the game against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 2 of the Western Conference Qualification Round at Rogers Place on Aug. 3, 2020. (Photograph courtesy of the NHL)

The Blackhawks entered Game 2 riding high after stealing Game 1 from the Oilers 6–4. While the Blackhawks looked to take a commanding 2–0 series lead, the Oilers looked to even the series at one game apiece.

In Game 2, the Oilers were led by Connor McDavid. The former Hart Trophy winner struck early and often in this contest. 

Just 19 seconds into the first period, McDavid got the Oilers on the board, as Adam Boqvist blew his assignment and left McDavid wide open.

After going up 1–0, McDavid kept his scoring jets fired up and went top shelf on Corey Crawford for the Oilers’ second goal of the game and a 2–0 advantage.

With momentum firmly on Edmonton’s side, Chicago responded with an answer of their own. When the spotlight is bright, the stars shine the brightest. One of the Blackhawks’ bright stars, Patrick Kane, cut the lead in half at 2–1 with a goal of his own.

The chaos of the period continued, but the score at the end of the first period was Edmonton leading 2–1.

In the second period, the Oilers struck first with a goal from Tyler Ennis, pushing the gap to 3–1. The Edmonton native went five hole on Crawford from distance.

After the Ennis goal, the Oilers began their parade to the penalty box, as Edmonton committed three consecutive penalties. Despite the trio of power play chances, the Blackhawks’ special teams offense was stymied by the Oilers.

With both teams at full strength, the game got even crazier with a goal from Slater Koekkoek to cut the Chicago deficit to one at 3–2. This was Koekkoek’s first-ever postseason goal and point.

The second period continued its unpredictability when fellow defensemen Olli Maatta scored the equalizer to level the score at 3–3. It was Maatta’s third postseason goal of his career and his first as a member of the Blackhawks.

After two goals from unlikely goal scorers, the Oilers went back to the power play. Unlike the Blackhawks, McDavid was not silenced and scored his third goal of the game, notching the hat trick with less than four minutes left in the second period. This was the lone power play goal scored in the game by either team and put Edmonton ahead 4–3, the score after 40 minutes.

After fighting valiantly for two periods, the Oilers pulled away from the Blackhawks in the third period. In a span of 40 seconds, Edmonton doubled up the Blackhawks to extend the Oiler lead to 6–3. Edmonton got goals from James Neal and Alex Chiasson to bury the Blackhawks to cap the night’s scoring.

Along the Boards

In Game 1, the Blackhawks were lead by the Jonathan Toews and Dominik Kubalik line. In Game 2, the Blackhawks’ offense was lead by Patrick Kane, Kirby Dach and Alex DeBrincat. Kane tallied one goal and one assist, while Dach and DeBrincat each marked two assists.

With Drake Caggiula serving a one-game suspension, Chicago head coach Jeremy Colliton chose to play John Quenneville in his place. Quenneville spent just 5:05 on the ice in the loss.

The Oilers made a change in net. Mike Smith started Game 1, but was replaced by Mikko Koskinen for Monday’s outing. Koskinen made 23 saves on 26 shots for an .885 save percentage.

The Blackhawks and Oilers will be back on NBCSN on Wednesday. The game is scheduled to begin at 9:30 p.m. CDT.

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