In a game that happened to fall on Connor McDavid’s birthday, the Edmonton Oilers set a franchise record Saturday night as they beat the Montreal Canadiens in overtime for their 10th consecutive win.
And while McDavid’s game-winning assist acted as a nice gift, the 27-year-old also received something special from the Bell Centre crowd — plenty of boos every time he touched the puck.
But rather than taking the Bronx cheers to heart, the captain, who touched on the subject in a recent interview with TSN’s James Duthie, did not seem bothered by it one bit.
“It happens a lot of times in Montreal,” he explained. “They seem to not love when penalties are called against me, so that seemed to get ’em going a little bit.”
Then, responding to Duthie, who called the Habs faithful’s boos the “ultimate compliment from a passionate fanbase,” McDavid revealed that no other NHL arena gives him quite the same treatment that the Bell Centre does.
“It only seems to really happen in Montreal.
McDavid on playing in Montreal: “I love playing there, I love that building, the fans are great…”
byu/MrGoodsir87 inHabs
Nevertheless, the three-time Art Ross Trophy winner doesn’t just tolerate the crowd’s boos, which would be a distraction for most. He claimed to actually “love” playing in front of Canadiens fans.
“I love playing there. I love that building. The fans are great,” he said. “I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”
With 16 goals and 42 assists over 38 games this season, McDavid currently sits atop Edmonton’s points leaderboard with 58.
Meanwhile, the Oilers extended their win streak to 11 with a home win against the Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
They’ll attempt to go for the even dozen when they take on the Seattle Kraken in a home game at Rogers Place on Thursday night.
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