“I do think he has to change his game a bit.” – Tortorella on Connor McDavid

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The Score

Tortorella: McDavid must change his game to win Stanley Cup

• John Tortorella believes Connor McDavid will have to alter his game come playoff time if he’s to lead the red-hot Edmonton Oilers to the promised land.

“I do think he has to change his game a bit. Not turn into a checker, obviously,” Tortorella said, per ESPN. “He’s talked about culture, he’s talked about standards, he’s talked about winning. You’re not just going to fill the net during the playoffs and outscore teams. You have to play on the other side of the puck. You have to have that business-type attitude of, ‘Nothing’s going to bother me, no matter how you’re going to check me.’

BLH’s Thoughts: Hmmm. Reckon Sportsnet’s Mark Spector will be all over this one with Bob Stauffer next week on Oilers Now?

Tortorella isn’t wrong, but before McDavid can take that step in his game, the rest of the roster has to show that it’s capable of handling itself with regards to its offensive production. 

Then again, were Vincent Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis two-way geniuses when they won the Cup with Tortorella in 2004? How about when Mario Lemieux was winning Cups in ’91 and ’92? Did 66 transform his game to make those championships happen? 

I dunno… Somebody has to score the goals… 

Lowetide.ca

• Last night was a big night for Philip Broberg, who had the look of a dynamic, complete defenseman patrolling the blue for Bakersfield. He stood up at the blue line, punished advancing forwards, skated miles, passed the puck with aplomb, scored a point, and was seemingly one step ahead of any Heat all night long. 
• Broberg was so impressive he overshadowed solid performances from Dmitri Samorukov and Markus Niemelainen. Through 10 games, Broberg is separating from the pack, Mike Kesselring is gaining traction and William Lagesson is flagging badly. 
• I don’t think the Oilers should recall Broberg, he is starting to dominate the AHL (Stockton is a fantastic team and he cut through them like a hot knife through butter) but you want to see that for 30 games before elevating. I am going to change my view in this way: If Broberg plays like he did last night through Christmas, they should call him to Edmonton. He was that good. 

Philip Broberg in the first period of a game in which they are down 2-1. He had a 6-1 shot share.

Was on for a goal for and against (was really crazy about the GA, but lots of blame to go around).

And he did this. pic.twitter.com/EZ5Clk3W7s

— bcurlock (@bcurlock) November 11, 2021

BLH’s Thoughts: Good for Phil! That hit in the clip above was really something. The Stockton player who decided he was going to skate right past Broberg, the balls on that guy to try something like that… Woof! 

For me, even if Broberg is wrecking the AHL by game 30, he’s staying down until after the NHL trade deadline because if he can come up to the NHL and continue his strong play, he’s as good as a trade acquisition as they say…

The Daily Goal Horn

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