EDMONTON — Connor McDavid has spent his entire life pushing toward the biggest moment on hockey's biggest stage. The crisp winter nights on outdoor rinks. The countless hours inside arenas.
The long bus rides. The training sessions in searing summer heat. The hours of skating, stickhandling, shooting.
The grind has taken the Edmonton Oilers captain, blessed with good genes and an unparalleled work ethic, from youngster to prodigy to superstar. He now sits two wins from hoisting the Stanley Cup — and authoring an improbable, historic comeback. "You think that when you're here it's going to be some magic feeling," McDavid said Thursday.
"You don't know what to expect. To be honest, it's all been pretty normal." McDavid, to be honest, has been anything but in what is turning into a best-of-seven masterpiece, grabbing hold of the title series in stunning fashion after his team went down 3-0 to the Florida Panthers.
Edmonton's back pressed against the wall, the 27-year-old powered through with a four-point performance in an 8-1 walloping in Game 4 before again leaving his stamp with two goals and two assists as part of a 5-3 victory in Game 5 that dragged the Panthers back to the Alberta capital for Friday's Game 6. "I don't think you can be exceptional at anything you do unless you absolutely love what you're doing," Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said. "He loves playing hockey.
" McDavid's 42 points in these playoffs is a number bettered only by Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemi.