Former NHL goaltender Devan Dubnyk reflected on his battles against Connor McDavid during a recent appearance on the Oilers Nation podcast, admitting there was a period early in McDavid’s career where he managed to keep the superstar off the scoresheet.
Dubnyk, who spent 12 NHL seasons with teams including the Minnesota Wild and Edmonton Oilers, explained that during his time in Minnesota, he was able to limit McDavid during those matchups.
“I do remember, everybody was asking me, as he was doing his thing, he hadn’t scored on me for… again, I don’t know how many games it was,” Dubnyk said. “It was probably like two, but I think it was a little bit more than that. There was a good block at the start of my first stretch of competition against Connor McDavid that he didn’t get any on me.”
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Dubnyk acknowledged the context behind that success, noting McDavid was still developing into the dominant force he is today.
“I did have a pretty good beginning stretch against Connor McDavid,” Dubnyk said. “Now, he was younger, obviously, and it was early on in the league, and we didn’t play Edmonton that much, so obviously, like anything, everybody knew who Connor McDavid was. They saw all the special things he was doing, and we had some pretty good success against the Oilers in Minnesota for a good stretch as well.”
Dubnyk admitted ‘the dam broke’ eventually
During Dubnyk’s peak years with Minnesota, the Wild built their identity around layered defensive coverage. That formula mattered against a player like McDavid more than against anyone else in the league.
Even elite goaltending alone rarely slows McDavid consistently. Teams that have frustrated him most often forced Edmonton into dump-ins and prevented controlled zone entries. Minnesota did that effectively during Dubnyk’s tenure.
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Dubnyk’s comments highlight how difficult it is to isolate individual success against McDavid.
Eventually, as Dubnyk admitted, “the dam broke.”
“I don’t know when it was, and he was able to get some on me, but any time you can go up against somebody like that, it’s obviously memorable when you’re watching him light up everybody around the league, and he wasn’t able to have success there. So, again, I can’t claim for career success against Connor McDavid, but there was a stretch in there that I was able to keep him off,” he added.
Connor McDavid continues to rewrite NHL standards
The version of McDavid Dubnyk faced early in his career is far different from the player dominating the league today. The Oilers captain finished the 2025-26 season with 138 points in 82 games, leading the NHL in both points and assists.
McDavid also surpassed 400 career goals and became just the third player in league history to record nine 100-point seasons, joining Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. He has won the Conn Smythe in 2023-24, six Art Ross Trophies, three Hart Memorial Trophies, one Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard Trophy, and 4 Ted Lindsay Awards.
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What stands out most is his consistency. Opponents can slow McDavid briefly, but very few sustain it over time. Dubnyk’s recollection serves as a reminder that even hockey’s most dominant stars still face stretches where structure, patience, and execution can temporarily contain them.
