Tomas Hertl received an impossible task in Game One of the Stanley Cup Playoffs: stop Connor McDavid. In reality, no one can stop the new face of the National Hockey League; you can only hope to contain him. For the most part, the newly christened San Jose Sharks center did that when he found himself on the ice at the same time as McDavid.
More than that, Hertl flung himself all over the ice, creating scoring chances and giving San Jose some much-needed possession against the youthful Edmonton side. The Oilers, holding home-ice advantage, put McDavid on the ice whenever they pleased so San Jose head coach Pete DeBoer didn’t have the luxury of hard-matching Hertl against McDavid.