If there was a more dynamic player here than McKinnon I certainly didn’t see him, as the diminutive yet highly skilled forward was able to create scoring chances at a high rate for both of himself and his linemates while finishing tied for 2nd in points on his team with 6 in 4 games. He was very effective at finding space off-puck in the neutral zone, building up speed and catching passes in stride in order to attack the line and gain the offensive zone with control. He made a handful of defenders look silly in 1v1 situations, either by using his speed to blow by them down the wing and make a hard cut to the net or leveraging his puck skills to beat them to the inside and create scoring chances from the middle of the ice off the rush. His speed was a factor once things got set up in the offensive zone as well, as he consistently kept his feet moving which allowed him to win races to loose pucks and extend cycle sequences which lead to sustained pressure. He also owns a deceptive release with impressive accuracy which allowed him to score a couple of goals from odd angles and beat goaltenders from distance.

While he didn’t get a ton of puck touches at 5v5, what stood out to me was McKinnon’s willingness to take on contact to get himself to scoring areas in the offensive zone. He nearly scored a goal early on in this one by darting to the low slot off a faceoff and pouncing on a loose puck but was denied in tight. Throughout the rest of the game he was causing havoc along the crease area, getting himself in front to screen goaltenders and win inside positioning on defenders to jump on pucks low in the zone. His on-puck skill did shine through in a handful of sequences, particularly in the second frame when he attacked a defender head on off the rush and used a quick lateral burst to work his way to the inside before the puck rolled on him on the last second. He was able to extend cycle sequences through his edgework as well, using stutter steps or quick pivots to freeze defenders and separate from them in order to work his way into space before continuing play.