McDavid could set a new Oilers franchise record before the season ends
The Edmonton Oilers have just 12 games remaining on their schedule, but Connor McDavid might be able to make some franchise history in that time.
Much of the attention has recently been focused on McDavid’s pursuit of his sixth NHL scoring title. At 119 points, the Oilers captain sits just four points back of Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov for the lead.
However, there is another accomplishment that McDavid is chasing, and his opponent is a player whose name and number are in the rafters of Rogers Place. Heading into tomorrow night’s matchup against the LA Kings, McDavid sits at 68 career game-winning goals through his first 637 games in an Oilers jersey.
The Oilers franchise record for game-winning goals belongs to Glenn Anderson, who had 72 over his 854-game career in Edmonton.
NHL.com
Despite coming off a 64-goal season last year, McDavid is not even in the top-25 in goal-scorers this season. He has 26 goals in 68 games this year and is on-pace for 30, which would be his lowest total since his sophomore season in 2016-17.
It’s safe to say he won’t be catching Auston Matthews or teammate Zach Hyman for a chance at his second-consecutive Rocket Richard Trophy. The game-winning goal franchise record, on the other hand, is well within reach.
McDavid iso-cam on the OT winner 🤤 pic.twitter.com/QiBi4F07nL
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 29, 2024
To do it, McDavid would need to score five game-winning goals over the last 12 games of the season. It’s a tall task, but if anybody can do it, it’s McDavid. So far this season, the NHL’s reigning MVP has just four game-winners, meaning he would have to more than double that output over a much shorter span.
With the games getting tighter as teams prepare for their final stretch before the postseason, you can bet that players like McDavid will have to shine through. The record will eventually be his, it’s just a matter of if he can get it out of the way now.
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