Connor McDavid and Nail Yakupov have a chemistry that has, for some reason, been undeniable so far this season. When it was brought up this summer, by Matt Henderson, people mentioned that there would be no defensive mind on that line and that McDavid and Yakupov would get chewed up.
For the large part, McDavid and Yakupov have been doing the chewing up with veteran linemate Benoit Pouliot. For the Oilers, that’s a massive plus, mainly because it checks off so many things.
Why It’s So Important:
If this duo is actually a legit thing, then Edmonton will have no problem icing two actual scoring lines. Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are both legit NHL scorers, while Jordan Eberle will return to the lineup in due time and likely team up with those two.
That leaves Pouliot, McDavid and Yakupov to roll as the second unit. If they can create some magic, then Edmonton will be handful for most teams to handle offensively. That makes the Oilers a, wait for it, dangerous team to play against.
It also saves Nail Yakupov’s career, which has not been pretty so far. His rookie year in 2013 was very solid, but 2013-14 and 2014-15 were nightmare years for the dynamic goal scorer. If he and McDavid have a legit chemistry, then Yakupov finally finds a role in Edmonton, one that likely keeps him here for a few years.
Why Is It Working?:
McDavid is a sublime playmaker, what he does with the puck is just stunning. Some of the passes that he has made in these first six games have been just ridiculous. He knows where to put the puck and how to find guys, he just has the it factor to make that work. He’s also dangerous enough to be a threat to score some goals too, which makes the opposition have to guess what he’s going to do.
Yakupov is a finisher, he has a killer shot and the ability to convert some of those dynamic passes into scoring chances and goals. Guys like Teddy Purcell, who played briefly with McDavid, simply do not have that ability. Yakupov and McDavid compliment each other so well skill wise.
They are both also extremely fast, they can actually keep up with each other. That might seem like it should be a gimme, but the speed of those two has been an issue for other linemates in the past. They both also have a high hockey IQ when it comes to the offensive aspect of the game.
Let’s also give Benoit Pouliot some credit here. Both McDavid and Yakupov are capable of retrieving the puck, but Pouliot can do it at a high level and is still skilled enough to make plays. Todd McLellan’s system is a perfect fit for Yakupov too.
Are There Risks?:
The defensive aspect is still a risk, but Connor McDavid is better defensively than I gave him credit for coming into this season. Also, if this line has the puck as much as they have in the early going, the defensive aspect really won’t matter, they won’t be in that end of the rink anyways.
Benoit Pouliot and his ability as a two-way forward benefits the Yakupov/McDavid duo and using them as the second line also cuts down on the level of competition they will see. As good as McDavid is, team’s will likely use their top-pairing against a proven line like Hall-RNH-Eberle.
Will They Stick Together?:
In the win over Calgary, McDavid scored a pair of goals and then set up Yakupov’s tally. In Vancouver, McDavid set up Yakupov for the game’s opening goal. Prior to those successes, McDavid had set up numerous scoring chances for Yakupov. They create chances together.
They’ve stuck together longer than I thought they would, and I truly believe that Todd McLellan likes them as a duo. They just compliment each other so well, it makes too much sense to have them on the same line. I’m sure they will have tough nights, but if they keep showing these flashes, I really think Yakupov could be a long-term linemate for McDavid.
I’ll be really interested to see how they fair in these next three games against Detroit, Washington and Los Angeles.
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