McDavid shows potential, not full arsenal in loss to Blues

Connor McDavid's feet are wet at last.

But as the most hyped-up prospect since Sidney Crosby peeled off his sweat-soaked gear for the first time, he did so having fallen short of revolutionizing the game or even reversing the enduring on-ice misfortunes of the Edmonton Oilers, for that matter.

And that's completely fine, because despite the weighty expectations - and Jack Eichel scoring a wonder goal in his debut for the Buffalo Sabres - Edmonton's hard-fought 3-1 loss to the Blues on Thursday night was only one game - one McDavid himself will be hard-pressed to even remember.

"It was just kind of all a blur," McDavid told reporters postgame.

The man charged with overseeing his development, Oilers head coach Todd McLellan, had a little more to offer but fell short of applauding his star pupil.

"He was fine," McLellan said. "At times I thought he was very dangerous, and at other times I didn't think that line had a lot going."

"We're talking 60 minutes into a 15, 20-year career. He's going to get a lot better as time goes on."

McDavid was scoreless, recording two shots in 22 shifts in nearly 18-and-a-half minutes played primarily alongside Taylor Hall and Anton Slepyshev.

As the game wore on, he started to look like the most dangerous player on the ice, using his blazing speed and showing command of the offensive zone. But he struggled in other important facets of the game, especially at the center-ice position, losing 10 of his 13 draws mainly contested against Blues strongman center David Backes.

McDavid will be back at it Saturday night when the Oilers host the Nashville Predators.

- With h/t to Stephen Whyno of the Canadian Press and Dan Rosen of NHL.com