Oilers' McDavid on NHL's most torrid scoring pace in nearly three decades
Just when you thought Connor McDavid has reached the highest of points, the Edmonton Oilers captain has kicked it up a notch.
To a level, potentially, unseen in the NHL in three decades.
“You know what? I heard something the other day…and I wish I could tell you where I heard it so that I could attribute it properly…but it was somebody talking about someone at the height of their field or the top of their game,” Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft told media Wednesday.
“They said it’s almost like living at the foot of Mount Everest in that brilliance becomes commonplace. Some of the things that this guy does, we’re privileged to have a front-row seat.”
Fill in the blank: Connor McDavid is ______
He became the first player this season to hit 70 points and required the fewest games to do so since Mario Lemieux (25 GP) and Jaromir Jagr (34 GP) in 1995-96. #NHLStats: https://t.co/2ZfG5epUMq pic.twitter.com/3QXkTp27NJ
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 31, 2022
Teammates certainly have a good vantage point, witnessing his current 17-game point streak, where he’s amassed 16 goals and 21 assists.
It’s put him in a position to shatter his own highs.
McDavid’s previous NHL career-high of 123 points (44 goals, 79 assists) was set last season. He’s well over halfway there this year with 72 points, including 32 goals and 40 assists, through just 37 games.
He’s the fifth-fastest to reach the 70-point mark in a single season dating back to 1990-91.
He’s on pace for 71 goals and 160 points, rounding up, too.
“I’m always working on my game. I’m always trying to get better,” McDavid said after a five-point outing against the Seattle Kraken on Friday — his eighth career outing reaching that production level. “Some nights it goes well, some nights it doesn’t. That’s the nature of this league, and I’m just trying to help the team win.
“That’s what I’m paid to do.
“I just try to approach each and every night the same and help the team any way it’s needed.”
Connor McDavid with 72 pts in 37 games, on pace for 160 pts 🤪.
Last player to reach 160, Mario Lemieux with 161 pts in 1995-96.— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 31, 2022
Only two players in NHL history — Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux — would’ve had more productive single-seasons in their careers, with Gretzky logging nine seasons above the 160-point threshold and Lemieux netting a trio.
No player has reached such a number since Lemieux did it in 1995-96, when he had 161 points.
Seventy-one goals would slot him in a tie for the 10th-most in a single year, locking him in with Gretzky and fellow Oilers great Jari Kurri. Only Gretzky, Brett Hull, Phil Esposito, Teemu Selanne, Alexander Mogilny, and Lemieux would’ve had more.
He’s still got to get there.
But it’s hard to believe some wouldn’t build around him.
And McDavid’s elevated play is certainly next level.
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