McDavid climbing toward Gretzky’s territory, record in Stanley Cup Final | NHL.com

The expectations couldn’t be higher, the media more intense, the fans more passionate.

Yet McDavid lives up to the hype and excels under the pressure.

“I don’t know how players can do that, because it’s such a microscope they play under,” said Kelly Hrudey, the former goalie who played with Gretzky with the Los Angeles Kings from 1988-96 and is covering the Cup Final as an analyst for Sportsnet. “I never had that.

“I think just to witness it and recognize it is really special, because it’s very hard for those players. As you know, they can’t go anywhere, and to have some sort of a regular life is impossible for them. To perform at the level they’re capable of is really difficult, for sure.”

McDavid is 27 years old, too young to have watched Gretzky play live. In an interview before the season, he said Gretzky, to him, was always kind of a “mythical player.”

“You just kind of heard about the numbers and stuff like that,” McDavid said then. “I think when I watch [replays of] ‘Gretz,’ the thing that I marvel at is just, like, his poise with the puck, his patience. The plays that he would make, nobody would see coming.”

Well, this is no myth. It’s reality.

McDavid is averaging 1.63 points per game in his career in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, second to Gretzky (1.84) among players who have appeared in at least eight games.

McDavid has 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists) in these playoffs, fourth in NHL history. He has already broken Gretzky’s record for assists on a single postseason (31 with Edmonton in 1988), and he’s five points from Gretzky’s record for points in a playoff run (47 with the Oilers in 1985).

McDavid has 11 points in the Cup Final (three goals, eight assists), tied for seventh in NHL history. He’s two points from Gretzky’s record for points in a Cup Final (13 with Edmonton in 1988) and two assists from Gretzky’s record for assists in a Cup Final (10 with the Oilers in 1988).