Oilers Win a Game Full of Milestones

The Edmonton Oilers beat the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday night. Some milestones highlighted the game. First, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins registered his 800th NHL point. He did so by assisting on Jack Roslovic’s first goal of the game. However, his milestone got overshadowed by two big milestones for the Oilers captain, Connor McDavid.

McDavid scored two goals in the 5-2 win over Utah. His first goal of the game was the 400th goal of his career. He becomes the 115th player in NHL history to reach 400 goals, and the fifth player in Oilers history. His second goal of the game is his 1,200th career point. By reaching 1,200 points in 784 games, he became the third-fastest player to hit the 1,200-point mark. McDavid trails only Wayne Gretzky (504 games) and Mario Lemieux (593 games).

The two goals were his 39th and 40th of the season. That gives him his fifth 40-goal season, surpassing Glenn Anderson (four) for the fourth most in Oilers history. Those ahead of him are Leon Draisaitl (six), Jari Kurri (seven), and Gretzky (nine).

After the game, McDavid was asked about reaching 1,200 points. “It is a big number, obviously,” he said, “I feel like I have a lot of great years ahead of me still, which is exciting. Incredibly grateful to have played with so many great players to knock off some of these milestones.”

Oilers’ Captain is Having Another Great Season

McDavid has 40 goals and 78 assists for 118 points in 72 games this season. That puts him at a 1.64 points per game pace. If McDavid has been anything since entering the NHL at 18 years old, it’s that he is a consistent scorer. Since his first season in 2015-16, he has averaged 1.53 points per game in 784 games.

Throughout his 11 seasons in the NHL, this is the ninth time McDavid has surpassed 100 points. He and the Oilers have ten games remaining this season. Edmonton currently holds the second spot in the Pacific Division with 79 points.