Much of the excitement around the Edmonton Oilers this season involves new coach Mike Babcock fixing the team’s defensive issues. The team’s leaders, including Connor McDavid, sought out Babcock in the interests of suppressing opposition goals.An early crack in the game plan appears to be emerging. The coach’s read on the roster might be out of time with the reality of the situation. So far, the verbal from management and the coaches has been somewhat confusing. The team seems convinced that playing McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the same line at five-on-five is a winning idea. However, in The Athletic’s recent fan survey, respondents voted overwhelmingly (74 percent) in favour of playing the two elite centres on separate lines in the game state.The goal for the organization is to win the Stanley Cup, and responsible play from Game 1 of the regular season is welcome. It needs to start with McDavid, who is the best player in the game. A recent ranking by The Athletic has Edmonton’s captain at No. 1, with a plus-29.5 rating, per the model — and 27.6 of that coming from his offence.How can Babcock and McDavid find a way to increase his defensive rating? What about McDavid and Draisaitl together? Will this work?Optimal McDavidMcDavid’s best defensive season (using GA-60 and expected GA-60) at five-on-five during his career came in 2016-17. Coach Todd McLellan ran an impact No. 1 line that featured McDavid and Draisaitl with veteran winger Patrick Maroon. The trio played 543 minutes together, delivering a 60 percent goal share while allowing 2.32 (2.35 expected) GA-60, via Natural Stat Trick. His most common defensive linemates that season were Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson. Goaltender Cam Talbot was a wonder at five-on-five, with a splendid .929 save percentage. Puck IQ tells us McDavid faced elite competition 36 percent of the time (469 minutes) and flattened the league’s best (66 percent goal share).How much of that 2016-17 season can Babcock and Oilers management duplicate? Let’s start by comparing McDavid on-ice a decade ago to his numbers last season.Stat2016-172025-26Time On Ice16:0216:56Goals-600.961.04Points-602.872.46IDHC5.73.97Giveaways-601.784.71Takeaways-602.691.08GF-603.513.24GA-602.142.94Goal Pct6253XGA-602.322.9Save Pct0.9240.89All numbers five-on-five, via Natural Stat TrickThis is a revealing table. McDavid played almost a full minute more last season than in 2016-17. At that time, Babcock (who was the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs) publicly commented (a rare thing) on McDavid’s overuse by his former assistant coach (McLellan). Playing time was reportedly a topic of conversation for Babcock and the Oilers players who met this summer before Stan Bowman hired the coach. Something to monitor next season.The 2016-17 version of McDavid benefitted from playing with Draisaitl, as shown by points per 60. The two men did not dominate last season when playing together five-on-five; an injury to Zach Hyman slowed the unit for a portion of the season.