Canucks vs. Oilers: JT Miller on matching up against Connor McDavid

Article content

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid has received compliments galore in his time in the NHL, but the ones Vancouver Canucks pivot JT Miller offered up Sunday have to be among the best.

Article content

“He’s different than anybody. You can play what seems like a perfect shift and all of a sudden he’s gone,” Miller said. “It’s about changing (lines) at the right time and making sure if he’s going to do something he has to go the whole length of the ice.”

Article content

McDavid, who put up a league-best 12 points (1 goal, 11 assists) in a five-game, first-round win over the Los Angeles Kings, leads the Oilers up against the Canucks in the second round of the post-season starting Wednesday at Rogers Arena.

Miller, 31, has routinely been matched up with McDavid, 27, when Vancouver has played Edmonton in the past. The Canucks beat the Nashville Predators in six games to advance.

McDavid’s 32 goals and 132 points left him third in the league scoring in the regular season. He had just one goal and three points in games against the Canucks, but those meetings all came early in the campaign before Edmonton found its groove. McDavid sat out Vancouver’s visit to Edmonton in April with a lower body injury.

Article content

McDavid has 64 points, including 23 goals, in 40 career regular season games vs. Vancouver. That’s the most points for the three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner against any one team in his nine-year career. It’s the second most games behind the 41 he’s played against the Calgary Flames. He has 29 goals and 57 points against them.

“You just have to limit him. He’s going to get chances. You have to try to keep him on the outside as much as possible,” Miller continued.

Miller warned that you can get too focused on McDavid, too. He said it was crucial that the Canucks concentrate on what they do well and dictate the action rather than trying to counter what Edmonton is doing.

“You can talk about playing defense and shutting down whoever you want down, but when we play Canucks hockey we’re in your face and play in their end more than we play in our own,” he explained. “We’ve proven that when we focus on our game we can have results. We need to try to keep it five-on-five and win your one-on-one battles. The message doesn’t really change.”

Article content

The Oilers came into the year with all sorts of buzz as a Stanley Cup contender. They lost 8-1 on opening night on Oct. 11 to the Canucks at home, and then fell 4-3 in Vancouver three nights later. They dropped a 6-2 decision on Nov. 6 to fall to 2-8-1. They fired coach Jay Woodcroft six days later, replacing him with Kris Knoblauch. They were 3-9-1 under Woodcroft and 46-18-5 with Knoblauch at the helm.

Vancouver beat Edmonton 3-1 on April 13 minus McDavid.

“The playoffs are a whole other animal. You can use the Winnipeg and Colorado thing,” Miller said, pointing to how the Avalanche ousted the Jets in five games in the first round after Winnipeg swept the three regular season contests between the squads.

“I don’t think it (the regular season vs. Edmonton) means a whole lot. They know what they need to do in the post-season and they’ve obviously played really well to this point as well. Both teams are hungry for their own reasons and it’s a highly anticipated battle for us.”

Article content

Canucks coach Rick Tocchet also had the highest praise for McDavid.

“The one thing I really respect about Connor — obviously he’s a great player, one of the best ever — is his work ethic,” said Tocchet. “When you see him on the ice a half-hour before practice working on his game with a skills coach or if there’s an optional he’s on the ice or the way he trains… it’s like Sidney Crosby, the (Nathan) MacKinnons, the ( Cale) Makar. All those guys, they work their asses off. Connor McDavid is obsessed with being better. That’s why I respect those guys; they’re obsessed to be better.”

[email protected]

@SteveEwen

Here is the Canucks vs Oilers Round 2 playoff schedule:

• Game 1: Wednesday, May 8, 7 pm, in Vancouver
• Game 2: Friday, May 10, 7 pm, in Vancouver
• Game 3: Sunday, May 12, TBA, in Edmonton
• Game 4: Tuesday, May 14, TBA, in Edmonton
• Game 5: Thursday, May 16, TBA, in Vancouver*
• Game 6: Saturday, May 18, in Edmonton, TBA, in Edmonton*
• Game 7: Monday, May 20, TBA, in Vancouver*
*If necessary

ROUND 2! SIGN UP TO GET YOUR FREE CANUCKS PLAYOFF POSTER: We are proud to partner with the Vancouver Canucks to bring you this year’s edition of the longtime Province tradition, the Canucks Playoff Poster series. CLICK HERE to get a new player poster emailed to you every game day, plus all the posters from Round 1!

Share this article in your social network