McDavid’s Five-Point Night Puts Him With Lemieux, Bossy And Gretzky

Connor McDavid scored twice, set up three more goals, and tied the game with 1:28 left in regulation on Thursday night as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 6–5 in a shootout at Rogers Place. It was McDavid’s third five-point game of the season, and it took his total to 31 points — eight goals and 23 assists — in 10 games, with a point in every one of them.

Edmonton trailed 4–2 after two periods. With goaltender Devon Levi pulled, McDavid’s tying shot deflected in off Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s skate. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the only goal of the shootout.

McDavid is the fourth player in NHL history to reach 30 points in 10 games or fewer. Mario Lemieux did it three times — 37 points in 1988–89 and 32 in both 1992–93 and 1995–96. Mike Bossy had 32 in 1984–85, and Wayne Gretzky had 30 in 1984–85. No one had done it since Lemieux in 1995–96. The 31 points also break Gretzky’s Oilers record for the first 10 games of a season, which was 30. McDavid has also recorded an assist in each of the first 10 games, the fourth player in league history to do that.

Leon Draisaitl matched him on the night with two goals and three assists of his own, taking his season total to 21 points. Asked about McDavid, Draisaitl said: “What do you want me to say? It’s just not real. He’s maybe the greatest player to ever play, in my books.”

Nugent-Hopkins’s night carried its own marks. Making his season debut after a lower-body injury suffered in training camp, he had a goal and an assist in regulation before the shootout winner — and at 33 he became the holder of the franchise record with 16 seasons as an Oiler.

For Carolina, the defending Stanley Cup champion, the scorers were Jackson Blake, Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis — making his own season debut after shoulder surgery — Logan Stankoven and Jesper Valimaki. The Hurricanes are 8–2–2; Edmonton is 8–1–1. Next, the Oilers host Toronto on Saturday night, and Carolina plays at St. Louis on Saturday night.