Following a four-point effort in his team’s 4-3 overtime win over the New York Islanders, Connor McDavid will have an opportunity to make history in front of fans in Edmonton on Thursday.
The Oilers are set to host the struggling Nashville Predators for their third and final meeting of the regular season later this week. With just one more point, McDavid will become the fourth-fastest player in NHL history to reach 1,000 points for his career.
The fastest ever was Wanye Gretzky, who reached 1,000 points in his 424th game in the league and then reached 2,000 points in his 857th game. Mario Lemieux was the second-fastest to reach the millennium mark, as he hit the milestone in his 513th game. Assuming McDavid doesn’t suddenly go on the longest scoring drought of his career, he’ll come in right behind Mike Bossy on the list, who reached 1,000 points in his 656th game.
The NHL and its broadcasting partners would be thrilled if McDavid was held off the scoresheet when the Predators come to town because the next game on Edmonton’s schedule is a primetime Hockey Night in Canada matchup in Toronto. Despite the incredible script, McDavid said he would prefer to get the job done as quickly as possible.
“I wanted to get it over with tonight,” McDavid said following Tuesday’s win over New York. “Nights like that, I don’t want to come off the ice.”“I would have liked to get it done tonight, but a five-point night is not, well, it’s not [accomplished] every day,” McDavid added. “I’d like to not bring it in there [to Toronto], and it’s another big game for us against Nashville.”
Though McDavid is downplaying his accomplishment in typical McDavid fashion, his teammate and close friend Leon Draisaitl acknowledged that he’d surely love to make history in front of the crowd at home.
“He’s not a guy that likes the show about it all,” said Draisaitl. “He likes the end product of it and he puts his work into it every single day. I’d be lying if I said he doesn’t want to achieve [1,000 points] as soon as possible. That’s human nature. But he’s not in it for the show.”“I hope I’m not going to jinx it, but I have a feeling it is not going to get to Toronto. Knock on wood, I’m sure he would love to do it in front of our fans at home.”
Edmonton’s game against Nashville on Thursday will be the 659th of his career, so McDavid should be able to reach 1,000 NHL points ahead of legends such as Peter Stastny (682 games), Jari Kurri (716 games), Guy Lafleur (720 games), Bryan Trottier (726 games), Denis Savard (727 games), Steve Yzerman (737 games), Marcel Dionne (740 games), Phil Esposito (745 games), Sidney Crosby (757 games), and Jaromir Jagr (763 games).
“We’re not talking greatness, we’re talking legendary,” Draisaitl added. “He’s the greatest player to ever play, in my books.”
What does this all mean for McDavid himself? Becoming the fourth-fastest in NHL history to reach 1,000 points isn’t something that he’s just brushing off, but the captain is ultimately focused on what matters most, which is helping the Oilers win hockey games.
“Nothing’s happened yet, so I guess maybe I’ll save that for when it happens,” McDavid said. “But it’s not lost on me the speed to get there and the names that are there. They’re a few of the very best. But nothing’s happened, and we gotta get ready for another one on Thursday.”
