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.
The longtime NHL head coach, now working as an analyst on ESPN's "The Point" says that despite McDavid's skill, a commitment to defense is the only thing that will get the league's most dynamic player a Stanley Cup.
"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.'
"Don't talk about it, just play hard, play through it, but the other side of the puck is that important too come playoff time."
McDavid and fellow Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl are the league's top two scorers again early in the 2021-22 season and have galvanized Edmonton to a scorching 10-2-0 start.
Expectations to deliver in the playoffs are sky-high given the form of the Oilers' top two players, both of whom were placed under the microscope after Edmonton was swept by the underdog Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the North Division playoffs this past spring.
"I think he's learning," Tortorella said. "(Head coach Dave Tippett) is going to have to get that whole group - if they're talking about a Stanley Cup - they're all going to have to play a little bit of a different way, not just try to outscore teams."
Tortorella, who won a Stanley Cup as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004, did go on to admit he's been wrong before.
"Ovechkin - I didn't think they were ever going to win in Washington, but Ovi changed his game a bit and they ended up winning a Cup," he said.
The Oilers have advanced past the first round just once in the McDavid era (2016-17). In 21 career postseason games, McDavid's put up 22 points.