McDavid’s lucky suit stops helping. What he did to try break the jinx

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Has Connor McDavid’s luck run dry?

McDavid wore the same game-day suit to several games against Dallas, leading some people online to speculate that the Oilers captain has kept to the same outfit as a matter of superstition.

McDavid donned a matching light gray jacket and tie, white shirt, dark gray pants and brown belt to games four, five and six of the Western Conference Finals. The Oilers won all three games in the series and were able to come from behind to beat the Stars 4-2.

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Now in the Stanley Cup, the NHL’s playoff scoring leader apparently attempted to break the jinx after a difficult 3-0 loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 1, to which he had worn the same outfit. McDavid wore the suit again for Game 2 but went with a different tie, as seen in the video below:

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Despite another valiant effort, fifth time was also clearly not the charm. The score was tied at 1 at the second intermission, but Toronto’s Evan Rodrigues scored three minutes into the third period for the Panthers and then again on a power play, with an empty-netter finishing things off.

Fans on Twitter are certainly less invested in the suit following the loss (“burn that suit,” user @darceymcl even went as far as to write). Another user, @maxod626, questioned whether the “lucky” suit was now cursed, writing, “Remember when McDavid went for beer? Then the guy touched his lucky suit? Jinxed it.”

But the question remains open as to whether McDavid is ready for a change.

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Game 3 takes place Thursday, and the Oilers have a difficult climb ahead. The Oilers will need a massive push against the stout, suffocating Panthers to become just the sixth team in NHL history to hoist hockey’s holy grail after going down 0-2 in a best-of-seven final.

But beating the odds is something the team has been doing all season. They started the schedule an ugly 2-9-1. They trailed the Vancouver Canucks three times in the second round of the playoffs. They fell behind the Dallas Stars before claiming the Western Conference crown.

“I’m excited to see our group come together,” McDavid said after Monday’s loss. “I’m excited to see us fight through adversity and looking forward to people doubting us again.

“We’re good with our backs against the wall.”

National Post, with additional reporting from The Canadian Press and Associated Press

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