Players with three 130+ point seasons: Gretzky (13x) Lemieux (6x) Esposito (4x) McDavid and Dionne (3)
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McDavid feels Oilers will be ready to play their best come playoffs: ‘We’re going to peak at the right time’
Photo credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images
By Jason Gregor
Apr 9, 2026, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 9, 2026, 14:01 EDT
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid believes his team is ramping up and they will be playing their best hockey when the playoffs begin on April 18. If actions speak louder than words, McDavid’s performance last night in San Jose suggested he could be right.
McDavid dominated the Sharks offensively, while his teammates suffocated the Sharks defensively. The Oilers allowed a season-low 14 shots against in a must-win game for San Jose. It was an impressive performance in all three zones.
McDavid produced the 14th five-point night of his career, tying Jari Kurri for second most in Oilers history, and he tallied his 15th career hat trick. McDavid now has 47 goals and 133 points this season. He joined an exclusive group of players with this third season with 130+ points.
McDavid needs seven points in his final three games to become only the fourth player with multiple 140+ point seasons.
What was impressive about last night was while McDavid was devouring the Sharks, his teammates were matching his offensive brilliance with a staunch defensive effort. When the Oilers commit to playing sound defensively, they are tough to beat. Since returning from the Olympic break the Oilers are 12-7-2. They sit 10th in points percentage at .619 and the only playoff teams in the Western Conference with a better record since the break are Colorado (14-7-1) and Dallas (12-6-3). The Oilers have played well, despite struggling with consistency.
We’ve seen them look lost defensively one night, but then the next game they play focused and committed and give up very little.
In their first game after the Olympic break, they lost 6-5 to Anaheim, before smothering Los Angeles 8-1 the next night. They lost 6-3 to Carolina on March 6 and then shut down Vegas 4-2 on March 8. Tuesday in Utah they surrendered six goals, many due to brutal giveaways, but they rebounded and managed the puck with pinpoint precision in San Jose.
The Oilers are 6-2 in their last eight games. They allowed 10 goals in their six victories but allowed 11 in their two losses. They’ve had way more good games than bad games recently, and their captain believes they are trending in the right direction.
“We still feel like our best hockey is in front of us and we’re going to peak at the right time here in a couple of weeks,” said McDavid after last night’s win.
Their past history doesn’t lie. When they commit to playing to the system Kris Knoblauch has implemented, they can dominate. They were awful in their first two playoff games last year in Los Angeles, allowing 26 high-danger chances. But then they woke up, committed to playing smart hockey and went 12-2 against Los Angeles, Vegas and Dallas to reach the Stanley Cup Final.
Last night the Oilers’ give-a-shit-meter for managing the puck and playing solid defensively was almost 100%. When they play like that, they can beat any team in the NHL, especially when McDavid is constantly pressing his turbo boost button. I’ve argued for years that offense isn’t an issue in Edmonton, and I still stand by it. Limiting goals has always been their biggest challenge.
In 11 games without Leon Draisaitl the Oilers have scored five goals (4x), four goals (2x), three goals (2x) and scored two, one and zero goals once each. And their power play scored three goals in the first 10 games without him, before erupting for three last night. They didn’t rely on their PP to win games. They won by scoring at 5×5. When Draisaitl and Zach Hyman return the Oilers will only become stronger offensively, and if they can continue their recent trend of playing sound defensively for the majority of games, the Oilers making a third trip to the Stanley Cup Final is very possible.
They won’t shut down teams every game. That isn’t realistic. The Florida Panthers, a strong defensive team, allowed five or more goals six times during their 2024 playoff run to the Cup. In 2025, they allowed five goals three times. There will be nights where the opposition breaks you down defensively, and that will happen to the Oilers, they just need to limit those games and even those moments in tighter games.
Recently they’ve had more good defensive games than bad ones, and that’s why the NHL should pay attention when McDavid says outwardly that he feels the team is trending upwards.
SNAPSHOTS…
— Evan Bouchard tallied two assists last night and now has 91 points and 70 assists this season. Bouchard is the 13th D-man in NHL history to reach 90 points, the 13th with 70 assists in a season and only the 10th to have 20 goals and 70 assists in the same season. Here’s a list of the active D-men with 90+ points in a season.
Erik Karlsson 25-76-101 in 2023.
Roman Josi 23-73-96 in 2022.
Cale Makar 30-62-92 in 2025.
Quinn Hughes 17-75-92 in 2024.
Bouchard has 21-70-91 with three games remaining.
It is interesting to note that Karlsson, Makar and Hughes won the Norris trophy. Josi finished second to Makar, when Makar had 86 points but was +28. Josi actually had more first place votes (98-92), but he only had 76 second place votes to Makar’s 98. Any suggestion that Bouchard shouldn’t be a finalist for the Norris is quite comical to me. I see no factual data to suggest he isn’t among the top-three defensemen this season.
— No update on Connor Ingram, but the fact he remained on the bench for the third period tells me it isn’t that serious. Had Tristan Jarry been injured in the third, Ingram would have had to play. Even if it isn’t that serious, I’d likely lean to playing Jarry in Los Angeles and give Ingram a few more days off. The concern is always how a player feels the next day. Muscle or tendon issues can worsen overnight.
— Jason Dickinson was hit by a shot on his first shift of the third period and didn’t return. He couldn’t put any weight on his leg as he left the ice. Dickinson’s commitment and pride in playing solid defensive hockey have been a welcome, and much-needed addition to the Oilers. Losing him would be a big blow. You hope it isn’t a fracture and was just a really bad stinger.
— After having Grant Fedoruk from Leading Edge Physio on my show last week outlining the timeline to return from a grade-two MCL strain, I wonder when we will see Draisaitl return to the ice.
“His return date will depend on if it was a partial thickness or full thickness tear,” said Fedoruk.“The MCL is responsible for the medial stability of the knee, not that forward and twisting motion. It is needed, of course, in hockey, as you will need medial support when you are planting your foot, but some players have played through grade one strains before. It will come down to the amount of instability and pain he will have. I can’t say for certain what his timeline to return would be unless I was treating him.“Usually, a second-degree tear is a four-to-eight-weeks absence. High-end athletes will return sooner, because their surrounding muscles are stronger and they get amazing treatment. The first stage he has to get through is swelling and pain. The next stage the body starts to lay down collagen, almost like a mesh, and that leads to the final stage of remodeling.”
Today marks 25 days into his recovery. Sunday will be four weeks. When the Oilers begin their playoffs, likely on Sunday the 19th or Monday the 20th, it will be five weeks. He could be ready then, but considering the Oilers’ ultimate goal is winning the Stanley Cup, I won’t be shocked if Draisaitl isn’t in the lineup for the first game. The Oilers have played well without him, and while they are better with him in the lineup, they should be able to win a few games in the first round without him.
— If the Oilers win one of their final three games they will clinch a playoff spot. If they win all three games, they are guaranteed to finish first in the Pacific Division. Win two, and Vegas would need to go 3-0-1 in their final four games or Anaheim would have to go 4-0 to pass them.
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