I Watched This Game: the McDavid Version

This edition of "I Watched This Game" is the first time I will have seen Connor McDavid in NHL action, as in an entire game as opposed to just the highlights. The Edmonton Oilers, McDavid's team, travelled to Ottawa to take on the Senators in a Thursday night tilt, and it ended up rather one-sided.

PRE-GAME:

• Canadian national anthem courtesy of Constable Lyndon Slewidge. It went as well as his other performances of the national anthem in Ottawa.

FIRST PERIOD:

• The Oilers waste little time getting on the board, as Mark Fayne fires a laser past Craig Anderson to put the Oilers up 1-0.
• McDavid is a threat with or without the puck. Case in point: Jordan Eberle shot the puck instead of giving it back to McDavid on an odd-man rush and Eberle was rewarded the first of two goals to double the Oilers' lead. 
• Former Senator Eric Gryba gets into a fight with Max McCormick. Not much of a fight, just a lot of clutching and grabbing.
• Chris Neil goes to the box for interference, and the Oilers make them pay, thanks to an on-the-tape pass from McDavid to Eberle that ends up finding the back of the net and puts a premature end to Anderson's night.
• The Senators get an opportunity to get back into the game when Benoit Pouliot goes off for hooking. Mike Hoffman makes good on this opportunity and cuts the lead down to two.
• The Oilers got off to a hot start, and that is good enough for a 3-1 lead after one period.

SECOND PERIOD:

• Mark Stone fires a puck at the net, which Cam Talbot saves initially, but the puck manages to cross the line before Talbot could knock it away. The Senators are within one.
• Fayne is a dirty hooker, so he's gone for two. However, the Senators can't capitalize, and it marks the beginning of the end for their chances to win.
• Zack Kassian fires a shot from the left circle, which zips past Andrew Hammond and restores the Oilers' lead to two. If Kassian can provide secondary scoring like this and play to his size, he will be a shrewd pick-up for the Oilers this season and possibly beyond.
• Former teammates go at it, as Gryba and Zack Smith have their dance. It was a lengthy one, and both threw some good shots. They get five to cool off.
• Darnell Nurse is heading to the box for interference.
• Both teams exchanged goals in the second period, which means the Oilers still have a two-goal lead heading into the final frame. It almost became a one-goal lead, but Talbot made a last second save to preserve the lead.

THIRD PERIOD:

• Shane Prince trips Justin Schultz, so it's off to the box for him.
• The Oilers seem to be firing every puck with eyes, as Andrej Sekera finds the back of the net from the blue line on the power play.
• Leon Draisaitl gets in on the act, as he scores on a one-on-one to give the Oilers six goals on the evening.
• McCormick is fighting again, this time against Nurse. Nurse pretty much dominated this fight, and both get five to relax, with Nurse having a bag of ice on the hand.
• Shortly after leaving the box, Nurse heads back there thanks to a high-stick.
• Chris Wideman roughs up McDavid, so he sits for two minutes.
• Brandon Davidson tacks on the extra point, as he fires a shot from the blue line past Hammond.

Overall, this was a game in which practically every member of the Oilers contributed in some way, shape, or form. McDavid's points all happened in the first period, but it was clear that his presence took the pressure off his teammates, and they put together their best effort of the season. Exactly how long it lasts (note: it imploded in today's game at Montreal) remains to be seen.