The Flyers are ready for the challenge of limiting Connor McDavid: ‘It’s going to take all six of us’

EDMONTON, Alberta — Last season, Flyers forward Owen Tippett was clocked as the fastest skater in the NHL, hitting a top speed of 24.21 miles per hour.

The player right on his tail, just two hundredths of a second behind him, was, unsurprisingly, Connor McDavid. According to NHL Edge, the Oilers captain hit 22-plus mph 66 times last season; Tippett did it 46 times.

But the thing with McDavid isn’t just the speed bursts and his ability to go from zero to 60 on a dime, it’s his edge work. He has made many an NHL defenseman or even a five-man unit look silly as he turns them around and puts them on their heels.

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As Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim said, “He’s not a guy you can really stop, it’s more or less limit.”

Limiting McDavid, a generational talent, is no small task. In 648 regular-season games, he has 984 points.

Bonkers.

“Obviously, it’s really difficult [to face someone like him]. That’s why he’s the best player in the world,” defenseman Cam York said ahead of Tuesday’s road game against the Oilers. “It takes all six guys to shut him down. It’s going to take all six of us tonight to manage him, and, even then, he’s still going to get his chances. So you got to just try and make sure those chances aren’t grade-A’s and do whatever you can to just limit his time and space.”

Gap control was a key focus for the Flyers, especially the defense. A typical strategy is one stick length away for defensemen so you can swipe the puck or step up into the body. But this is McDavid. Give him too much room, and he can build up to a speed and use his crossovers to get a blueliner off their stride. Stay on top of him, and he’ll work his magic to get away or use his high hockey IQ and vision to set up a teammate.

“You don’t want to overcompensate and think about it too much,” Sanheim said. “Obviously, you want to be aware when he’s on the ice. It’s more of a five-man group; the forwards are going to have to help out and try to slow him down before he gets to us. And then it’s going to be our job to try to have that good gap and close the best that we can. The partner is going to probably have to help out at some point, and that’s just reading off each other.”

Sanheim and York, the Flyers top defensive pairing, were most likely tasked with stopping McDavid. But they also had to face him with Leon Draisaitl by his side. The stars will be on a line Tuesday (10 p.m., ESPN) after the Oilers’ 0-3-0 start to the season.

So the Flyers not only have to worry about a five-time scoring champ in McDavid but also the 2019-20 points leader (with 110) riding shotgun. Zach Hyman, one of the hardest-working, net-front guys in the NHL, rounds out the trio — and he scored 54 goals last season.

“I don’t overthink it,” coach John Tortorella said about the dynamic duo. “I’m more concerned about our team as far as some of the things we need to improve on early in the year. Whatever they do with their lines, we’ll see where we’re at and make our call, but we don’t spend a lot of time going over the other team.

“Obviously, we know about those two guys,” he said with a laugh, “but we spend most of our meetings talking about our team.”

Tortorella may not have wanted to play his hand but the team did talk about facing McDavid. And how could you not? But as blueliner Egor Zamula revealed, the Flyers coaches stressed in a meeting not to “give to him too much space and ice, free ice for him … and we will try to play with the good sticks.”

As the Flyers’ top pair mentioned, the defense would need the forwards’ help to keep McDavid at bay. Sanheim mentioned that they could help stop McDavid from swinging and building speed, something he likes to do with a big loop and constant crossovers in his own end before heading up ice in a burst of speed. The forwards also can squeeze him out and limit the space he has in the neutral zone because, as Sanheim said, “It’s kind of hard on the D if he’s coming at you full speed.”

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Aside from Tippett, is Jett Luchanko could stay with McDavid. The 18-year-old is known for strong defensive game already — and his speed. According to NHL Edge, he already has been clocked at 22.32 mph, not far off McDavid’s top speed of 22.72 this season.

“I don’t know if they’re going to match him up against him or not,” Tortorella said. “I’m not afraid of it. We did some tape work with him yesterday, and just the conversations you have with him when you’re doing tape, you can see his intelligence and maturity. So, yeah, I’ll play him against anybody.”

Luchanko said Monday that the prospect of playing in a game against McDavid is exciting. He watched his countryman growing up, “so just to see him out there will be something cool,” he said.

And what about playing against him? The bench boss was asked if he’d like to see the matchup.

“Let’s not make a bigger deal out of it,” he said. “I’m just telling you, I’m not afraid of playing him anywhere.”

Defenseman Nick Seeler rejoined the team for morning skate Tuesday. He did not participate in line rushes or take much contact. … Center Scott Laughton and blueliner Rasmus Ristolainen did not skate. Tortorella said before the team took to the ice, “I got to wait until after the skate. We’ve got some bumps and bruises, and we’ll see what happens from there.” … Winger Joel Farabee, who missed practice Monday in Calgary was back on the ice and said he was good to go for the game.