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Oilers score nine goals in blowout win over Sharks

Preston Hodgkinson
Preston Hodgkinson
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Apr 16 2024, 3:59 am
Oilers score nine goals in blowout win over Sharks
Perry Nelson/USA TODAY Sports

Connor McDavid made more NHL history as the Edmonton Oilers obliterated the San Jose Sharks in a 9-2 victory to finish off their regular season home schedule.

All of Adam Henrique, Dylan Holloway, and Darnell Nurse had three-point nights, but all eyes were on the captain as McDavid entered the game stuck at 99 assists. He took his sweet time hitting the century mark, eventually getting #100 on the team’s ninth of the game, a Zach Hyman goal late in the second period.

“It means a lot to me,” McDavid told reporters after the game. “Thankful for my teammates, the staff here in Edmonton and all the players here… it’s been a different type of year, but everybody’s stuck with it.

“It always sets in when you hear the crowd and you hear the support from the fans and the reaction from your teammates.”

The roof on Rogers Place nearly blew off.

McDavid now joins an exclusive club of three other players who have gotten 100 assists in a single season that includes Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, and Mario Lemieux. That number could rise to four as Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov is sitting at 99 with one more game remaining.

MVP, MVP, MVP

There isn’t a lot that hasn’t been said about the sheer brilliance of McDavid.

It seems like every single season the Oilers’ captain finds a new way to show off just how amazing he is. Last year it was a 153-point season and now he finds a way to hit 100 assists in a single season, a feat that has only been accomplished by four other players in league history.

“He’s always a threat… he creates so much time for himself with the speed that we often get odd-man rushes,” Hyman said after the game. “Special to be a part of that moment, we’ve scored that type of goal a bunch this year so fitting that was the way.”

He was able to do this despite missing five games this season and starting the year on a bit of a slump. Easy to forget he also scored the first goal of the game in this one to start the nine-goal onslaught.

Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov will have strong cases to win the Hart Trophy this season, but nobody should ever bet against McDavid. He has once again proved to everybody why he is the best player on the face of the planet.

Foe-GOALS

Lost in the shuffle was Warren Foegele getting closer to hitting a milestone of his own.

The 28-year-old has already gotten career-highs in points, assists, and now has 19 goals on the season. His previous high for goals in a season was 13 which he did twice, last season and with the Carolina Hurricanes back in 2019-20.

“Dylan and Warren were two of the guys that sometimes you just benefit from being in the right place,” head coach Kris Knoblauch said after the game. “Their game all around was really solid. Making plays and skating.

“We’re happy that Connor hit that milestone, that’s the biggest thing, but it’s nice to see those depth guys get some offence too.”

He had two of those 19 goals tonight and you gotta think hitting 20 would mean a lot to him.

The Oilers now have eight players on their roster who have scored 18+ goals this season. Foegele needs one more goal to hit 20 and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evan Bouchard need two more to make it eight different 20 goal-scorers on the team.

Hollywood Boulevard

Another player that flew under the radar with all the McDavid excitement was Dylan Holloway notching the first three-point game of his NHL career.

He was once again phenomenal playing on the team’s third-line scoring a goal and picking up a few pretty assists on goals from Corey Perry and Bouchard.

“Dylers a horse,” Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said after the game. “He’s strong on the puck, can make plays and [is a] great skater… To see him get rewarded for going to the right spots and then making some really nice plays is nice to see.”

The 22-year-old has looked really good playing in a bottom-six role since being recalled from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors last week. In the four games since being called up, Holloway has four points. In contrast, he had just four points in 32 games before being sent down to the AHL at the trade deadline.

He could end up being a very important part of the team’s upcoming trade deadline.

The Oilers record inches forward at 49-25-6 as the team reaches 104 points on the season. Edmonton will now embark on a two-game road trip against the Arizona Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche to finish off the regular season.

Preston HodgkinsonPreston Hodgkinson
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