Connor the cyborg! McDavid got closer to Gretzky’s record by taunting Las Vegas defense

Connor the cyborg! McDavid got closer to Gretzky’s record by taunting Las Vegas defense

November 29, 2023, 09:15 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.

In three games, the Edmonton captain scored 12 points and today helped the Oilers beat the NHL champion.

The Edmonton Oilers had a lot of problems at the beginning of the NHL season, the Oilers even had to change coaches and during these turmoil even the best player in the world, Connor McDavid, became bitter. The Canadian was injured in the fifth game of the regular season, came out clearly poorly treated and unprepared, and in the next six games he showed the world the worst version of himself that we have seen in McDavid’s still short career.

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But over time, things improved for Edmonton and its leader. Coach Knobloch returned the taste of victory to the Oilers, and McDavid came to his senses and, as often happens, after a failed period he played with special inspiration and frenzy.

On November 21, McDavid scored his first double of the season (scoring twice against Florida), then eased up a bit in the game against Carolina, but only to then give up three hot games in a row.

First, Washington was attacked. The Oilers defeated Ovechkin’s team in the American capital and McDavid had four assists.

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Three days later, Edmonton was already crushing Anaheim at home, and Connor strutted his stuff, adding his own goal to his second straight assist. 9 points in two games is a surprising result. But McDavid doesn’t stop there, as if he were upset because at the end of November he is still not at least among the main contenders for the Art Ross, the award given to the top scorer of the season.

Also, Vegas, who hasn’t been doing well lately, came to visit the Oilers. The champions lost four of five games, and even managed to get “burned” at home against Arizona.

McDavid’s time in this match was the second half, which began with the score 1:1. First, Connor launched a goal attack, as a result of which the puck hit Janmark after Ekholm’s throw and went into the goal.

Video rights belong to NHL Enterprises, LP. You can see it on the NHL website.

It took less than a minute for Vegas to come back, but then McDavid himself scored his eighth goal of the season. During a 4-on-4 game, the Knights somehow forgot about Connor, who picked up the puck in the mid zone, flew into the Las Vegas goal and easily beat Logan Thompson.

Video rights belong to NHL Enterprises, LP. You can see it on the NHL website.

At the end of the period, the “oilers” managed to strengthen their advantage: the majority helped. McDavid threw Bouchard under the shot, shot from the sky and Evander Kane worked on the finish.

Video rights belong to NHL Enterprises, LP. You can see it on the NHL website.

McDavid again scored three points in one period, tying Sidney Crosby’s career mark. Now the two great Canadians have 24 periods each with 3+ points, this is the best result among active hockey players (Ovechkin follows with 22 periods), but McDavid had to play 623 fewer games to achieve it.

In the third period, Vegas, with the help of the Edmonton defense, neutralized McDavid’s efforts and tied the score. In overtime neither team got an extra point, but in the penalty shootout the Oilers were much stronger. Goalkeeper Skinner never missed a goal and McDavid scored the decisive try.

Thus, in the last five games, Connor scored 14 (3+11) points, which is exactly the same as McDavid earned in the first fourteen games of the season. It turns out that the cyborg Connor has returned, and now in the race to score the regular season the Canadian has entered the top 10, although he is still far from the leader Nikita Kucherov.

Top scorers of the NHL season.

And if we take a three-game span, McDavid nearly repeats the NHL record set by Gretzky. In March 1988, The Greatest scored 13 points in three games, Connor was left with twelve points in November 2023. Well, given that McDavid still has a lot of catching up to do, it wouldn’t be surprising if this point scoring machine establishes a new achievement in the near future.