Connor McDavid quickly making ground in NHL scoring race
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid is making up serious ground in the NHL scoring race.
After starting the season with just 10 points in his first 11 games, McDavid has exploded with 73 points over his last 39 games. This has him up to 83 points on the season, which is good enough for third place in the entire league. Though impressive, it isn’t exactly what Oilers fans have come to expect.
McDavid has led the NHL in scoring five times in his career and has won the Art Ross Trophy for each of the last three seasons. Anything other than the top spot is an anomaly for the 27-year-old at this point in his career.
Luckily for McDavid, the path to the top spot isn’t all that insurmountable. He needs to catch Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon (91 points) and Tampa Bay Lightning sniper Nikita Kucherov (94 points) if he wants a fourth consecutive Art Ross.
NHL.com
A few weeks ago it would have seemed impossible for McDavid to overcome his slow start to the season, but after recording a whopping 12 assists in his last four games, he is suddenly in range of catching the league leaders. At the moment he is just 11 points back of first place despite playing in six fewer games than both MacKinnon and Kucherov.
To put that into perspective, McDavid has scored 15 points over his last six contests. It is no stretch to say that the reigning NHL MVP could very well end the year at the top of the NHL scoring race for the fourth consecutive season.
If McDavid can catch Kucherov and win the Art Ross (again) he would become just the fifth player in NHL history to lead the league in scoring for four straight seasons.
The others are:
Jaromir Jagr (98-01)
Wayne Gretzky (81-87)
Phil Esposito (71-74)
Gordie Howe (51-54)#Oilers— Preston Hodgkinson (@NHLHodgkinson) February 20, 2024
If that does happen, McDavid would become just the fifth player in NHL history to lead the NHL in scoring for four straight seasons. Only Jaromir Jagr, Wayne Gretzky, Phil Esposito, and Gordie Howe have done the same.
It would also help his case for repeating as the winner of the Hart Trophy, given to the league MVP. He could win his fourth Hart Trophy, which would make him the fourth player to do so besides Howe, Gretzky, and Eddie Shore.
McDavid might not be on the historic 153-point pace that he accomplished last season, but this season is proving that you can never count out #97 no matter how far behind he may be.