The first game of the Western Conference Final between the Edmonton Oilers and the Dallas Stars begins tomorrow evening, and ahead of the playoff match-up not seen since the ’90s, people are running to Google to learn everything about the teams’ captains.
We turned to Google Trends and searched for Connor McDavid and Jamie Benn to see what Canadians’ public interest has been like since the start of the playoffs, and one superstar captain far outranks the other.
Below is the search interest in Oilers captain Connor McDavid (blue) compared to Dallas Stars’ Jamie Benn (red). Interest in McDavid has consistently outranked Benn’s, except for on May 10, which coincides with a controversial hit from Benn on the Colorado Avalanche’s Devon Toews during their series.
Google Trends
Similarly, McDavid’s highest spike on the board was May 13, after the Oilers captain took a cross-check to the face after Game 3 from the Vancouver Canucks’ Carson Soucy.
International interest in the two captains also varies widely, with Slovakia, Czechia, Russia, Switzerland, and Sweden being the top five countries interested in McDavid.
Google Trends
Meanwhile, search interest in Jamie Benn mostly comes from the United States, Australia, Finland, and Germany.
Related breakout queries for Connor McDavid since the beginning of the playoffs include “Soucy,” “McDavid Soucy,” “McDavid cross-check,” “Zadorov,” and “Connor McDavid hit.”
Searchers are also curious to learn more about Jamie Benn’s altercations, with the top breakout searches being “Jamie Benn hit,” “Benn hit on Toews,” “Toews,” and “Jamie Benn Stanley Cup.”
Game 1 of the Western Conference Final series between the Oilers and Stars will take place in Dallas tomorrow at 6:30 pm MT.
Do you think you know everything about McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers? Try out our quiz and find out.