In terms of an Edmonton Oilers home game, I don’t know how it can get any better than a 3-2 overtime win over the Nashville Predators mixed with Connor McDavid’s 1,000-point milestone masterclass. What a night at Rogers Place.

Coming into Thursday’s game against the Predators, all anyone could think or talk about was Connor McDavid scoring his 1,000th point. Sure, the Oilers need wins, and beating Nashville would give them their first three-game winning streak of the season, but the result almost didn’t matter. All we wanted was a goal or an assist from No. 97 to reach his milestone at home, and anything that happened before or after that moment really didn’t matter.

Even early in the game, the building had a weird energy, and you could almost feel it through the TV. It was like everyone was waiting for the 1,000th McPoint to come, including his teammates, who wasted no opportunity to feed the captain the puck, whether the situation merited it or not. Then again, it’s not like giving Connor McDavid the puck any chance you get is a terrible strategy, either.

In the first 20 minutes alone, Connor had at least three quality scoring chances that could have been goals had Scott Wedgewood not decided he was Dominik Hasek for the night. Whether it was at even strength or on the power play, the McDavid-led Oilers were buzzing all over the ice. They were producing so many chances without scoring a goal that you wondered if they were about to get goalie’d again. Edmonton was the better team by every metric, but as we’ve seen a few times this year, outplaying the opponent didn’t necessarily mean a lead on the scoreboard.

Yet, as they’ve done so many times before, the Dynamic Duo erased Nashville’s early lead on a perfectly executed two-on-one that not only tied the game but gave Oilers fans the moment they wanted to see. Flying down his off-wing, Connor McDavid was ready for Draisaitl’s pass and made no mistake in burying it past Wedgewood. Connor put that puck home like he was trying to put it through the net, and Rogers Place faithful went bananas. Another moment of McGreatness on home ice.

After Darnell Nurse gave Edmonton the 2-1 lead less than two minutes after McDavid’s milestone marker, the ice continued to be tilted in the home side’s favour. The Oilers were all over Nashville, and the game would have gotten wildly out of hand had it not been for a brilliant performance by Wedgewood. He kept the Predators in the game despite getting shelled for most of the night, and it was because of that the Preds were able to stay in the fight and push the game to overtime.

Once the bonus period arrived, the Oilers were either going to win a game they deserved or blow another opportunity at their first three-game win streak of the season. After a thrilling back-and-forth that saw both sides with more than enough opportunities to end it, McDavid and Draisaitl did what they do best by coming up clutch in the biggest moments. Working through the offensive zone with purpose, the puck moved from Draisaitl to McDavid to Darnell Nurse for the finish, capping off a milestone night with a game-winner that was as pretty as it was relieving.

Instead of blowing the night because of an inability to score, the Oilers got what they needed for the win and sent everyone home happy. But none of it would have happened without Connor McDavid. As he is on so many nights, he was the man of the hour and the one to lead the Oilers to victory. And on the night he became the fourth-fastest player in NHL history to reach 1,000 points, it’s hard not to feel grateful that we get to watch him on a nightly basis.

As much as seeing Connor McDavid hit varying milestones feels normal at this point, this latest one was anything but normal. With 1,000 points in 659 games played, McDavid cemented himself among the best to ever do it, and I found myself feeling grateful as the night rolled along, knowing how fortunate we are to have him as our captain. I know I say it often around here, but I also think it’s important to remind everyone to enjoy what we’re watching because a talent like No. 97 doesn’t come around often.

1. Michael McCarron opened the scoring (1-0) on a perfectly executed tip from the slot after he got his stick on Roman Josi’s point shot, redirecting it perfectly over Pickard’s left shoulder. As a bonus, McCarron’s goal came on Nashville’s first shot of the game. Good times.

2. After several quality chances to score in the first period, Connor McDavid got his goal and 1,000th career point (1-1) on a perfectly executed 2-on-1 with Leon Draisaitl. If you were going to write the story of how McDavid would register his 1,000th point, taking a pass from Leon to score the goal just feels right.

With the goal and assist, Connor McDavid became the fourth-fastest player to reach 1,000 points in NHL history, behind only Wayne Gretzky (424 games), Mario Lemieux (513) and Mike Bossy (656). In only 659 games, McDavid also reached the milestone faster than some pretty incredible players like Peter Stastny (682), Jari Kurri (716), Sidney Crosby (757), Jaromir Jagr (763) and Oilers assistant coach Paul Coffey (770).

3. Only moments after McDavid got point 1,000, Darnell Nurse gave Edmonton the lead (2-1) with a beautifully placed shot from near the goal line that beat Wedgewood high on the short side. Hell of a shot by Darryl. Mama.

4. Cole Smith tied the game (2-2) with less than three minutes left on the clock after Ty Emberson got caught on a pinch at the opposing blue line. With Smith behind the defence, he ended up with a clear lane to the net after Zach L’Heureux found him with the pass. That goal doesn’t happen with a little more respect for the blue lines.

5. How about three wins in three starts against the Nashville Predators for Calvin Pickard? In all three of those starts, Pickard has given the Oilers goaltending that was .913 — last night’s save% — or better. I know we’re used to Leon Draisaitl being the mayor of Nashville, but with numbers like this, maybe Pickard should at least be considered for a position as a councillor or something.

6. Leon Draisaitl may not have scored last night, but he did pick up a pair of assists, giving 24 points (11G, 13A) in his last nine games played against the Preds. It’s a level of dominance against a single opponent that I don’t quite understand, but clearly the Universe feels the need for Draisaitl to be Nashville’s daddy. Regardless of the reason, I’m a big fan.

7. Brett Kulak is playing out of his mind right now, and I could not be happier to see the guy have some success through the first month+ of the year. Kulak has been a Swiss Army Knife for the Oilers since he got here from Montreal, and it’s been fun to see him match his usually steady play with some offensive production as well. Kulak picked up another assist to go along with his 21:54 in TOI and two shots on goal.

8. When did Scott Wedgewood become Dominik Hasek against the Oilers? On the broadcast, Jack Michaels mentioned a pair of wins he picked up at Rogers Place with the Stars and then he goes out and stands on his head for most of the night on Thursday. He almost blew last night for us, and I may never forgive him for it.

9. As much as I want to nitpick that the Oilers went 0-for-4 on the power play, I will acknowledge that the Predators came into the game ranked first overall in PK percentage — they deserve some credit there. On the bright side, the Oilers’ PK killed off both shorthanded situations they faced, making it two games in a row where the penalty kill was perfect. Progress!

10. I guess I’ll forgive the Oilers for winning only 47.4% of the faceoffs they took. But only this time.

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