McDavid: Edmonton Oilers imperfect, but they're 'scraping and clawing'

A quarter of the way through the season, the Edmonton Oilers are about a quarter of the way to where they need to be as a hockey team.

Right now the formula is playing about 30 strong minutes a night and hitting the gas midway through the in the third period to see if they can overcome it. It’s relying too heavily on too few players, getting spotty goaltending and being bailed out by the power play.

It’s playing on a razor’s edge — 13 one-goal games and going to overtime nine times in 20 starts.

“We’re just scraping and clawing our way through the first quarter,” said captain Connor McDavid, who is finding his own high-water mark with six goals and 10 assists in the last eight games. “We’re getting points on the board and that’

See Full Page

130