PITTSBURGH — In front of an audience that included Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr, Connor McDavid did Sunday afternoon what he often does against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins: He put on a show.
From his opening goal just past the second minute through a game-sealing, hard-earned assist on Darnell Nurse’s snipe midway through the third period, McDavid again reminded Penguins fans he is carrying a torch once held by their best-ever players. The Edmonton Oilers won 4-0, but the story was — just as it was a year ago in this building — McDavid.
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McDavid has made a habit of racking up points against the Penguins, scoring nine goals and 27 points in 14 regular-season games. After Sunday’s victory, he has a head-to-head advantage in wins when facing Crosby, too.
McDavid’s ties to Pittsburgh are tighter than they might be to other teams he dominates. Pittsburgh is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Erie, Pa., where McDavid starred in junior as a generational standout for the Otters. He’s comfortable here, having attended Penguins games through his junior days — even posing once in 2013 for a picture with Lemieux and Crosby.
“Sid was my idol, and of course, Mario is Mario — everyone knows where he sits in terms of the game’s best,” McDavid said of the day that chance photo was snapped.
“It was a special day — and kind of a surprise. I was just coming down, just thinking we were going to the game. We ended up going to the room, and I got a chance to meet Sid and Mario and a couple other guys. It was just a real special day.”
The photo, which McDavid said his “mom’s got buried somewhere,” was taken Feb. 10, 2013. At the time, Lemieux was the Penguins’ majority co-owner and Crosby was on one of his early career scoring tears. McDavid had turned 16 only a few weeks earlier and had watched from an arena suite as the Penguins lost at home to the New Jersey Devils.
“You knew Connor was going to be the next great player,” said Tom McMillan, then-Penguins vice president of communications.
“And I thought, ‘We have a chance to have a photo with two guys (Lemieux and Crosby) who were No. 1 overall picks and another (McDavid) who you know was going to be.’ It was just one of those moments in time.”
Sunday afternoon provided another moment for McDavid: As he spoke to reporters in the visiting dressing room, Jagr waited outside, pacing before a private chat with McDavid who, like Jagr, has won five scoring titles.
Back in Pittsburgh only a few weeks after his No. 68 was retired by the Penguins, Jagr is set to play in an annual fantasy hockey camp to raise money for the Mario Lemieux Foundation. Lemieux will serve as a coach after playing in the camp for years.
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McDavid said he had previously spoken with Jagr “here and there, but not too much.”
“I’m a huge hockey fan, first and foremost — and what he did for the game and continues to do for the game is nothing short of remarkable,” McDavid said Sunday.
“It was cool to see his number go up a few weeks back. It was nice to see him recognized for his many, many great years in Pittsburgh and across the league.”
Just a casual 3700 career points in one photo 🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/79N73kTyTu
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) March 10, 2024
While on the topic of NHL legends with deep ties to each franchise: Paul Coffey, one of the NHL’s greatest defensemen whose best scoring season came with the Oilers and Penguins, is now an assistant coach with Edmonton. A regular at past Lemieux Foundation fantasy camps, he lamented not being able to attend what Lemieux has told friends could be the final one.
“Jags is going to play, huh?” Coffey said Sunday. “I’d like to see that. I mean, he’s still playing for that team he owns (Rytíři Kladno of the Czech Extraliga), so that’s kind of not fair.”
Coffey connected with Jagr on Sunday. A teammate of his in the early 1990s, Coffey couldn’t attend Jagr’s jersey retirement ceremony because of commitments to the Oilers.
“Jags is one of the best to ever play,” Coffey told The Athletic in February, “And, look, I’ve played with two of them in Wayne (Gretzky) and Mario. And the guy we’ve got here in Edmonton is right there.”
McDavid is trying to chase down a sixth scoring championship, which would pull him even with Lemieux. The silverware he wants most, though, is not of the individual variety.
“He’s hungry to win the (Stanley) Cup,” Coffey said. “You can see it. He has that look.”
McDavid had something resembling that look Sunday.
His performance in Pittsburgh on Sunday was hardly his finest against Crosby and the Penguins. He powered the Oilers to a blowout win in that game just over a year ago, scoring two goals and 4 points in front of a sellout crowd that had turned on former Penguins general manager Ron Hextall, repeatedly chanting for him to be fired. (He was a few months later, replaced by Kyle Dubas, who appeared to begin the process of rebuilding the Penguins by trading Jake Guentzel on Thursday.)
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The Penguins are 7-12-2 in their past 21 games. With only 19 remaining and a schedule featuring 13 games against clubs either holding or within 3 points of a postseason spot, the Penguins might finish a season with one of the league’s 10 lowest point totals for the first time since 2005-06, Crosby’s rookie season.
Hard times are upon the Penguins, whose run of 16 consecutive postseasons ended last year.
At least they don’t have to see McDavid again until next season.
But when he does return to Pittsburgh, McDavid will likely be received as he has been since his first game in the city. No visiting player’s jersey is represented more in Pittsburgh than McDavid’s No. 97. Sunday, at least a few dozen Otters jerseys were spotted among the crowd, as is usually the case.
“I loved my time in Erie, and Pittsburgh was just down the road,” McDavid said. “Been to Penguins games many, many times. It was something we loved to do — come down to watch Sid and the Penguins.
“So it’s cool to just play on this ice. My billets come down always. I get to see them. It kind of feels like a second home game.”
(Photo of Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby: Charles LeClaire / USA Today)