Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid has built a reputation for being able to use his speed to blow past defenders and score, resulting in awe-inspiring hockey highlights.
That ability, combined with the skills to create offence in a multitude of ways, has the 26-year-old centre sitting at an impressive 799 career NHL points in just 544 games, and with an opportunity to become one of the fastest to ever reach the 800-point milestone.
Ahead of the Oilers’ game against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday, the NHL tweeted that the four fastest players to hit the mark to date have been former Oilers legend Wayne Gretzky (352 games), Mario Lemieux (410 games), Mike Bossy (525 games) and Peter Stastny (531 games). Former Oilers great Jari Kurri is the fifth-fastest to reach 800 points, doing so in 558 games.
McDavid’s next chance to reach 800 points comes Tuesday night, when the Oilers host the Philadelphia Flyers at Rogers Place (listen to live coverage of the game on 630 CHED, beginning with The Faceoff Show at 5:30 p.m. local time).
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“McDavid is one of the deadliest offensive weapons in the history of the NHL,” Reid Wilkins, the host of Inside Sports on 630 CHED, said on Monday. “He’s scoring more goals than before and remains an elite passer.
“As long as the Oilers’ power play remains potent, the points will keep rolling in.”
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While the Oilers continue to battle to cement a playoff spot in what has been a wild Western Conference race to get to the NHL post-season, McDavid has consistently dazzled Oilers fans by already scoring 42 goals and 102 points in 57 games this regular season.
During Friday night’s game against the New York Rangers, McDavid earned his 100th point of the season with an assist, marking the sixth time he reached the century mark in a regular season. The only other active NHL player to accomplish that feat is the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby.
Among active and inactive players, McDavid became just the 16th player in NHL history to hit 100 points in six seasons.
McDavid is not the only Oiler approaching a significant points milestone. Centre Leon Draisaitl currently needs just two more points to reach 700 career NHL points while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins needs just three more points to reach the 600-mark.
The Oilers (30-19-8), currently sit in fourth place in the NHL’s Pacific Division and are holding onto a wild card spot in the league’s playoff race.
–With a file from Shane Jones, The Canadian Press