Demotion for Connor McDavid amidst winning streak

On Thursday, the Edmonton Oilers fire Dave Tippett and Jay Woodcroft took over as head coach. Since he’s been implementing changes, the Oilers have embarked on a winning streak that could go up to three tonight against the Kings in Los Angeles.

As soon as Woodcroft took over, he had the support of captain Connor McDavid, who had told NHL.com that he was ready for any changes his new coach wanted to implement.

And thanks to Mark Spector, we have the stats to prove that a lot of the in-game modifications are directly affecting McDavid.

As pointed out, here: “McDavid's shift length in two games under Woodcroft has averaged 53 seconds in each game.
That's a full 10 seconds less than his average on the season.”

There is no doubt that McDavid can be and will be more affective in crucial end-game moments, and who knows, maybe even more so in the postseason.

When Woodcroft tried the shift on Friday’s game, McDavid played 20:35. He told NHL.com after the game that if a reduction in ice time would help the Oilers win more, he’d embrace it.

“Of course. I’m open to anything to win,” he said.

With this current two-game winning streak, we might see less time for McDavid again tonight in LA.