The Edmonton Oilers only have two preseason games left until the regular season, and Connor McDavid wants to see more from the team.
After last night's shootout win against the Vancouver Canucks, McDavid spoke to media and said that he needs to reach another gear before the regular season begins. It needs to begin with better practices, and dialling in the details in the final preseason games.
According to Mark Spector, Connor McDavid has actually asked Coach Knoblauch to play out the rest of the preseason schedule and get more ice time to ramp up.
"The Edmonton Oilers captain approached head coach Kris Knoblauch and requested to play Monday against Vancouver, his third game of the pre-season.It was a game he was not scheduled to play, and although things can change, Sportsnet has learned that McDavid informed Knoblauch over this past weekend that he'd like to play out the rest of the pre-season schedule."
- Mark Spector
McDavid actually said he was going to take a slower and more patient approach to the offseason and training camp. McDavid explained he wore himself out early last season that led to a sluggish start for him and the whole team. They know they can't win the Stanley Cup in October, but they've got to be ready to compete. McDavid's attitude of now ramping up in the final days of preseason apparently rubbed off on the rest of the team, as Jason Gregor observed they had an intense practice today.
The Edmonton Oilers want to get all the way back to the Cup Final this season and finish the job, but they've got a long way to go until then. This regular season they can give themselves a better chance by not imploding to begin the season, and perhaps instead actually contend for the President's Trophy. Their goal for the regular season has to be preparing themselves for the playoffs, and locking down home ice advantage in every round would be a major boost.
