Chicago Blackhawks: Top 3 players who must step up against Oilers
2. Connor Murphy
Teams tend to stack the deck against the Oilers as they try to shut down McDavid and Draisail. Or at least minimize the damage they do. The Blackhawks got a bit extreme this season, though. They weren’t afraid to use their top two defensive pairings, led by Duncan Keith and Connor Murphy, against the McDavid and Draisaitl lines. Let’s take a look at their 5v5 ice time against each player.
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Time On Ice With
Time On Ice Without
- McDavid: 14:45 (Keith); 15:12 (Murphy)
- Draisaitl: 25:25 (Keith); 20:30 (Murphy)
If the Blackhawks beat the Oilers, it’s likely going to be because they either managed to outscore McDavid and Draisaitl or they did a good job limiting them. Keith is still a good defenseman, but he’s not as good as once was. All the miles he has put on his legs are finally catching up to him. Murphy’s going to have to take charge.
It’ll be interesting to see who Murphy is paired with. His most common defensive partner this season has been Erik Gustafsson, but he was traded to the Calgary Flames at the trade deadline. Murphy’s been paired several times with young defenseman Lucas Carlsson since the trade, but Carlsson was mostly a placeholder in the lineup for Calvin de Haan and other injured players.
Murphy’s going to have his hands full against the Oilers. Head coach Jeremy Colliton has not been shy to throw him out there against McDavid and Draisaitl. It’s hard to see him switching up his strategy, even with a relatively healthy defensive core.