Even on nights that don’t go Edmonton’s way, Connor McDavid keeps writing his place in NHL history.
The Oilers saw their three-game winning streak snapped with a 7-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, but McDavid still found his groove with an assist. Despite the setback, Edmonton remains second in the Pacific Division, and its captain’s historic pace remains one of the league’s biggest storylines.
Oilers’ Connor McDavid Closing In on a Stunning Wayne Gretzky Record
The assist against Minnesota pushed McDavid to 95 points on the year and back atop the NHL scoring list, while also moving him to 1,177 career points, another step closer to Wayne Gretzky’s historic Oilers record of 1,669 points.
That milestone may still be down the road. But McDavid’s path keeps putting him among the game’s elite. This week, he became just the fifth player in NHL history to post 10 seasons with at least 60 assists. He joined Gretzky, Paul Coffey, Ray Bourque, and Adam Oates in achieving that feat.
Earlier this season, McDavid put together a career-best 20-game point streak, piling up 19 goals and 27 assists along the way. That stretch put him in rare franchise company, joining Gretzky and Paul Coffey as the only Oilers to ever record point streaks of 20 games or more.
Meanwhile, Leon Draisaitl continues to climb Edmonton’s all-time scoring list. He now sits fourth with 1,034 career points, tied with Mark Messier and trailing only Gretzky, Jari Kurri, and Coffey.
On Saturday, Draisaitl opened the scoring just 3:16 into the first period. He picked off an assist, beating Wallstedt with a wrist shot. Joel Eriksson Ek then tied the score on the power play at 6:15. But Ryan Nugent-Hopkins restored Edmonton’s lead at 8:01 with a deflection off a Connor McDavid feed. Kirill Kaprizov evened it again late in the period on the power play.
Mats Zuccarello put Minnesota ahead early in the second. Then, Quinn Hughes made it 4-2 midway through the frame. Vladimir Tarasenko made it 5-2 at 15:40, taking a feed from Marcus Foligno in the left circle and burying it far post. It prompted a goalie change.
In the third, Rem Pitlick made it 6-2 before Jack Roslovic answered for Edmonton. Brock Faber sealed the 7-3 win with a late goal at 14:17, snapping a shot into the top corner from the left hashmarks past Ingram’s glove.
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The loss didn’t change much for McDavid, who continues to set the pace while closing in on Gretzky’s historic territory. The Oilers next face the Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
