McDavid's Oilers Fight for Playoff Life

0:00It's April 23rd. From the locker room to your ears, this is NHL News Today, powered by AI. I'm Corey with the story. Conno McDavid's off to a rough start in the playoffs against the Anaheim Ducks, with a series tied 1-1 heading into game 3 Friday night at 10pm Eastern Time in Anaheim. The Oilers star has zero points and sits minus two through the first two games, fighting the puck more than it's fighting back, including some costly. Connovers that hurt big time. Coach Chris Noblowche says McDavid's putting heavy pressure on himself as a leader, but he's confident the captain will snap out of it soon. There was a scary moment when McDavid rolled his right ankle in the second period of game 2, but he called it minor and returned no problem. Oilers fans are stressing over the special teams, too, going 0-6 on the power play, while giving up three shorthanded goals. That includes a blind pass from McDavid that led to Anaheim's fourth goal, widening their lead to 4-2 before Edmonton's late rally fell short in, 6-4 loss.

1:04Anaheim's defense is clogging the middle, using sticks and lanes and a 1-1-2 coverage to slow Edmonton's speed game. McDavid notes key guys like Leon Dracital and Zach Hyman are just back from injuries, so the power play still jelling after dominating the regular. Season at over 30% With the series shifting to the road, McDavid says it's time to crank up the desperation playoffs demanded, and when the oilers speed things up. They're tough to stop.