The farther the Edmonton Oilers have advanced in the NHL postseason, the more forward Connor McDavid has come into his own.
McDavid, 27, has 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists) in the playoffs, the fourth-most by any player in NHL history. He has already broken Wayne Gretzky’s record for assists in a single postseason (31 with Edmonton in 1988), and he’s five points away from Gretzky’s record for points in a single playoff run (47 with the Oilers in 1985).
What’s more, McDavid’s 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in the first five games of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Florida Panthers are two shy of Gretzky’s record. The Great One scored 13 with Edmonton in 1988.
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The Oilers have been on the ropes in the series but have won their last two games by a combined score of 13-4 to pull within 3 games to 2 in the best-of-seven series. If the win Game 6 on Friday, tying the series 3-3, the winner-take-all Game 7 would be on Monday in Sunrise, Florida.
It’s been a long, suspenseful road to get to this point. Even for casual fans with no rooting interest in either team, McDavid’s assault on the record books has been a compelling story to watch.
Setting aside the numbers, these Finals have been a showcase of McDavid’s smooth-skating, fast-attacking blend of power and finesse on ice. His finest moments have been just as aesthetically pleasing as they are numerically eye-popping.
As Nicholas Cotsonika wrote for NHL.com Thursday:
One of the plays McDavid made, no one saw coming. On the power play in Game 4, he carried the puck up the ice, eluded one defender at the blue line and split two more in the offensive zone. After cutting through a thicket of sticks, he set up forward Corey Perry for a backdoor tap-in.
Asked about creating his own iconic moments, McDavid said: “Those things just happen. They’re a byproduct of being prepared, all the work that we’ve done throughout the regular season, all the work that we’ve done through this run. Those moments are products of guys who are ready for the big moment.”
That McDavid is doing this all in the same uniform Gretzky wore from 1978-88 is lost on no one. Gretzky won four Stanley Cups in his career, all with Edmonton. The Oilers haven’t won a championship since 1990.
If McDavid can somehow engineer a comeback from a 3-0 deficit, he will earn a place in franchise lore that only one other player can claim.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
