Connor McDavid sets NHL record for most assists in a single playoffs, passing Wayne Gretzky

Step aside, Wayne: there’s a new record holder for most assists in a single playoff.

On Saturday night in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid notched his 32nd assist of the 2024 playoffs on a night where he racked up three assists. The assists that set him over the top came on the Oilers seventh goal of the night, where he fed Dylan Holloway, who scored a diving goal overtop Florida Panthers netminder Anthony Stolarz.

His incredible production in terms of setting up his teammates has carried over from the regular season in which he racked up 100 assists, something that saw him become the fourth player in NHL history to do so.

McDavid’s led the way in the playoffs with six goals, 32 assists and 38 points in 22 games, leading the playoffs in both assists and points.

Now, with his 32nd assist, McDavid’s taken over from Wayne Gretzky, who had not only the record from the 1988 playoffs in which he racked up 31 assists in 19 games, but McDavid has passed the second and third-place spots, too. It should be no surprise those also belong to Gretzky, who had 30 assists in 1985 and 29 in 1987.

McDavid’s first assist in Game 4 came 4:59 into the second period, where he dropped a pass back to Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse, who fired a shot past Sergei Bobrovsky, one that would chase him from the game.

His second came minutes later, getting a second assist on a goal scored by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to give the Oilers a 6-1 lead. He didn’t just rack up assists Saturday, either, as he scored goal of his own 1:13 into the second period.

The Edmonton Oilers had been waiting for McDavid and other star players to contribute on the scoresheet, and they did in a big way.

Now up to 38 points in these playoffs, McDavid passed Evgeni Malkin (36 points in 2009) for the most points in a playoff year among active players.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.