PHILADELPHIA >> Connor McDavid had not scored a goal in his previous five games, but for the Flyers that likely only meant the kid poised to assume the mantle of most feared scorer in the league was overdue.
McDavid, the 20-year-old Oilers captain coming off a 30-goal, 100-point season, paid his annual visit to Wells Fargo Center Saturday and played a relatively minimal role in a 2-1 Flyers victory.
Not that his presence was any less entertaining.
“He’s special,” fourth-line Flyer Scott Laughton said of McDavid. “I mean, he’s so quick and dynamic and made so many plays. So it felt good to get that win.”
The Flyers (5-3-0, 8 points), coming off a disappointing one-goal loss to Nashville Thursday, were able to match the fleet Oilers stride for stride in a revelatory performance. A year ago, the younger, faster Oilers would have been dealt with in a more physical, albeit less effective manner.
Now you have a Philadelphia team that not only can body up on occasion, but certainly skate with the fastest of NHL opponents.
And as for McDavid, having sticky centers like Sean Couturier and Laughton to do some shadow boxing doesn’t hurt, either.
“He’s so quick, so dynamic and to be able to keep him off the scoresheet like that is huge for our group,” Laughton said. “And I thought we played a really good third period, kind of getting on him and not letting their whole team get space and time.”
At times, that defensive effort on McDavid leaned heavily toward the physical.
“Yeah, there’s no other way to play him,” Laughton added. “You have to play hard, you’ve got to limit his time and you can’t let him get speed, because if he does, he’s gone. I think that’s the biggest thing, take away his speed early so he can’t get that puck and take it away down low.”
“He’s probably the best player in the world right now, so you know we just don’t want him getting the puck in full flight,” Wayne Simmonds said of McDavid. “We just wanted to keep him on the outside and kind of limit the touches he was getting, in coming full speed down the middle of the ice. I thought we did, our D did a great job on him as well.”
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Shayne Gostisbehere’s assist on a Claude Giroux goal went down as the Ghost’s 11th point of the season (1 goal, 10 assists). His eight-game start is tied for the best offensive start by a Flyers defenseman, leveling with Mark Howe’s 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 1985.
After the game, Gostisbehere checked in as the NHL’s leading scorer among defensemen.
“He is confident with the puck,” Jake Voracek said. “I think he has 11 points right now, which just gives him a confidence boost. He is a big part of our team. He looked good on the power play, too.”
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NOTES >> Despite being nailed by a shot he was blocking off the stick of Milan Lucic, defenseman Andrew MacDonald did what he could to stay in the game, even blocking another shot or two while trying to hobble to the bench late. No big deal, of course: “It’s just a stinger,” he said. “Just kind of went limp there for a little bit. We’ll just treat it and go from there.” ... Gostisbehere on McDavid: “You’ve got to be aware. His speed is world class. I think if we just shut him down and be aware of him on the ice it’s easier for us. Makes our jobs a lot easier.”
