Podcast McDavid 5.25

Ryan Callahan is in the hockey media business now, which means as an analyst for ESPN he must talk for a living.

When it comes to Connor McDavid and what he's doing for the Edmonton Oilers, even Callahan, a retired forward with the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning, admits finding the right adjectives is hard to do.
"What Connor McDavid is doing, I don't know if I have words for it to be honest with you," Callahan said this week on the "NHL @TheRink" podcast. "It's unbelievable."
McDavid leads the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 25 points (six goals, 19 assists) in 11 games. To put that into perspective, he already has more points than anyone had in the playoffs in 2007, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019. He is the fourth player in NHL history to have seven straight multipoint games in the postseason, joining Wayne Gretzky (eight in 1983), Tony Currie (seven in 1981) and Darryl Sittler (seven in 1977).
"It is so fun to watch the level he's risen his game to, which I didn't think was possible," Callahan said on the podcast with co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke. "I didn't think there was another level that he had, but there is and you're seeing it. He's willing his team through this Calgary series."
The Oilers have a 3-1 lead on the Calgary Flames in the best-of-7 Western Conference Second Round. Game 5 is at Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, CBC, SN, TVAS).
"Earlier we talked about being contagious, that leadership and everything else, it seems that his drive and the level he's brought to Edmonton has been contagious for the guys around him," Callahan said. "I mean, Evander Kane, the way he's playing. Leon] Draisaitl, the way he's playing. [Zach] Hyman, you can go down that list of forwards that have seemed to elevate their game after watching McDavid do what he does. I think that's a huge part of it. I sit there in awe every night as I watch him. Every shift he's on the ice he's doing something special, creating."
Callahan also talked about his former teams and where they stand in the playoffs.
The Lightning have reached the Eastern Conference Final for the third straight season, sweeping the Florida Panthers in the second round. The Rangers have won their past two games against the Carolina Hurricanes to tie that best-of-7 series 2-2.
In addition, Callahan spoke glowingly of Colorado Avalanche forward
Nazem Kadri and how he has handled himself the past few days on and off the ice, including getting a hat trick in a Game 4 win against the St. Louis Blues on Monday.
Rosen and Roarke also dove into the reasons why they believe Tampa Bay swept Florida and what that could mean for Panthers coach Andrew Brunette, who still has the interim tag.
They then discussed the importance of discipline in the Avalanche-Blues series, and reasons why John Tortorella could be a good fit as the coach of the Philadelphia Flyers after it was revealed he interviewed for their opening.
The podcast is free, and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on
[NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts
and the NHL app.
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