"Human apple tree": Draisaitl loving McDavid's assist streak with Oilers
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid is picking up assists like change recently and, though he doesn’t have any goals in his last 10, it’s garnering high praise from teammate Leon Draisaitl.
McDavid has recorded a mind-bending 20 assists in his last 20 games, bumping his total to 70 with 26 games still left in the regular season. At this point, he is well on his way to becoming just the fourth player in NHL history to record 100 assists in a single season.
“It’s elite, always has been,” Draisaitl told reporters after practice today. “Making plays and setting your teammates up is just as important as putting the puck in the net, if not more important… he makes a lot of stuff happen, he creates a lot and has the eyes and awareness to find his teammates.”
Oilers TV’s Tony Brar mentioned later in the scrum that former Oilers tough guy Zack Kassian once called Draisaitl the “human apple tree” for his ability to find his teammates with seemingly impossible passes.
Lately, it seems like that moniker is more fitting for McDavid.
“He’s the human apple tree right now,” laughed Draisaitl. “He can have that, that’s his slogan now, so yeah he can have it.”
McDavid joked before Monday’s game against the Kings that he would stop shooting the puck and instead look to see how many assists he can rack up. Though it seemed like a genuine dig at himself, he did pass up a golden shooting opportunity in the first period for a pass to Zach Hyman, who scored his 38th goal of the season.
FIVE games in a row with a goal for ZMH 🖐️ pic.twitter.com/Er2K1q2QB8
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 27, 2024
Though it would be nice to see McDavid put the puck in himself, nobody is complaining about his production. He’s in a furious race for the NHL scoring crown, with his 91 points just 11 back of Nikita Kucherov’s league-leading 102 points.
We’ll see if he can finally find the back of the net in tomorrow night’s matchup against the St. Louis Blues. Gametime is set for 6:30 pm MT on Sportsnet.