Last night, the Oilers avenged a disappointing Game 1 loss with a very exciting evening that saw them put up a pair of field goals on the road to a 6-3 victory. What you may not have known, though, is that the result of all this scoring was a couple of linemates making a little bit of Oilers playoff history. Let’s talk about it.
Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are the first players in #Oilers history to begin a postseason with back-to-back 3+ point games
(Gretzky never did this) pic.twitter.com/Ay9Rk4aFXP
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) August 4, 2020
With two games of their play-in round against the Chicago Blackhawks now in the books, the Oilers are back in the mix with a tied series with a chance to take the lead on Wednesday night. For better or worse, these first two matchups have been very high scoring, allowing Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to set an unlikely franchise record as the first duo to register three+ points in back-to-back games. Here’s the breakdown:
Connor McDavid: 2GP – 4G, 2A for six points
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: 2GP – 1G, 5A for six points
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: 2GP – 1G, 5A for six points
It’s not often that you get to set a franchise record that not even Wayne Gretzky was able to touch, but that’s exactly what has happened over the first two outings in this series. Seeing as the Oilers are going to need both McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins to produce if they’re going to legitimately have a chance at making a deep playoff run, the fact that they’ve found some early chemistry is a very good sign. Here’s hoping they can keep making magic happen as we move forward.