Last night, Connor went full Connor in the first period on the assist for Patrick Maroon’s goal and I think we could all use another look (or 10).

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Connor over the past few years it’s that he can make magic out of almost anything. Even when it looks like he’s going to run into a dead end he can still get something done, and that’s exactly what happened last night as he turned lemons into lemonade against two very good Blackhawk defenders.

There’s a lot to get to here and we’re going to break down each beautiful moment.

After Connor picked up the puck in his own end the Blackhawks were in a solid spot positionally, but even sound fundamentals weren’t going to help them here. Both Keith and Seabrook were where they needed to be, but that’s what makes Connor so special. While some NHLers would look at this situation and think “maybe I should dump and chase” Connor looks at it as a Gord damned challenge to be conquered.

Looking at the play in the shot above, you would think that Connor might try to feather a pass over to Patty Maroon right now, but oh no my friends. He had other things planned. Magical things. Beautiful things. Wizardly things. The fun part is that Keith and Seabrook were still in a good spot, but soon the tables would turn. Insert McVoodoo.

Here’s where the wheels are starting to fall off for the Blackhawks. I love the “hope and a prayer” stick-check attempt that Seabrook is doing here. He’s waving that wand around like Harry Potter trying to cast a spell, but Connor’s defences are too strong. Duncan Keith is still in a good spot on the defensive side of the puck, but Seabrook is now off balance and also ignoring Pat Maroon which allows the Big Rig to slip past him at the far post.

If I could zoom in tight enough, this is where we would see the “oh shit, oh shit” look showing up on Duncan Keith’s face. He went from being a solid spot positionally to having Connor behind him with Maroon set for a tap-in. Not to mention, it was pretty disrespectful of Connor to execute a perfect Denis Savard spin-o-rama in Chicago like this, right? ?

Note the owl-impression from Duncan Keith as his head is only a few degrees away from twisting right off his body. Ladies and gentlemen, that is a Norris winning defenceman that had absolutely no answer for Connor McDavid on a play that looked like it was in control only seconds earlier.

On the Oilers side, Pat Maroon may never score an easier goal in his life. All he had to do was keep his stick on the ice (shout out to Red Green), have a little faith, and let Connor take care of the rest. Actually, Patty’s goal face pretty much says everything that needs to be said.

Even hours later I’m still watching this play with absolute amazement. There were two or three times when I thought Connor was going to pass the puck or end up having the play die around him but that’s what I get for having doubt in my mind. When most people would have moved on to plan B, Connor held onto the puck with the cruellest of intentions in his mind and executed his plan to perfection. Even though the Blackhawks didn’t really screw anything here, it still wasn’t enough to stop McDavid from exerting his will. I guess all we can really do is watch him in awe and know that he’s going to do things that make our minds explode and leak out of our ears on a regular basis. Have I mentioned lately how lucky we are to have him?

Lastly, let’s all enjoy multiple angles of this absolute showstopper. Happy Friday, everybody!