Because the centreman Babcock had assigned to shadow and ruffle and harass the great McDavid, veteran Nazem Kadri, had only played about five minutes. Only one forward in the league, Patrick Kane, is getting more even-strength ice time than McDavid on a typical night. Considering both Kane and McDavid are generally attracting top-notch checkers, it’s safe to assume those even-strength shifts are tough slogging. McDavid is averaging a little more than 21 minutes a game, sixth among NHL forwards. In Sidney Crosby’s second season he averaged 14:40 in even-strength ice time — nearly three minutes less than McDavid is averaging so far this year.

Source: thestar November 02, 2016 22:45 UTC