McDavid gets 1,000th point, Oilers edge Predators in OT

EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid got his 1,000th NHL point on a goal in the second period and also had an assist for the Edmonton Oilers in a 3-2 overtime win against the Nashville Predators at Rogers Place on Thursday.

McDavid reached the milestone at 2:44 of the second period. With the Predators caught on a line change, Leon Draisaitl skated in on a 2-on-1 and sent a cross-ice pass to McDavid for a one-timer below the glove of Scott Wedgewood that tied the game 1-1.

McDavid has 341 goals and 660 assists in 659 games, making him the fourth-fastest player in NHL history to reach the milestone, behind Wayne Gretzky (424 games), Mario Lemieux (513) and Mike Bossy (656).

“Just seeing the way the players reacted means the world to me,” McDavid said. “It means everything to me. To hear the fans, that stuff means more to me than any of the numbers. It was a really special moment.

“These milestones are a great time to reflect and look back. It’s been a good 10 years and hopefully 10 more good ones.”

McDavid got his 1,001st point at 2:33 of overtime to help give the Oilers the win, sending a no-look, backhand pass to Darnell Nurse for a one-timer past Wedgewood's glove from the top of the right circle.

“It is a special moment. I said it the other day, this is legendary stuff,” Draisaitl said. “To witness that and to be a part of it and to have seen him grow up from when he was 18 and we first met him, it is pretty cool, pretty amazing to be a part of.

“We needed to win this game. Obviously, we would’ve liked to tighten that last play up a little bit, but it was a good ending for us.”

Nurse had two goals and an assist for the Oilers (9-7-1), who have won two straight in overtime and three in a row overall. Calvin Pickard made 21 saves.

"Pretty good game, obviously led by 97. Connor was outstanding,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “Unfortunate we gave up that late goal. Giving up the breakaway with two minutes left is unacceptable.

“It's not a recipe for success long term, but we did a lot of good things. Connor had two points tonight but could have been a lot more."

Michael McCarron and Cole Smith scored for the Predators (5-9-3), who have lost five of their past six (1-3-2). Wedgewood made 31 saves.

“It was good to get a point, obviously,” Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said. “I didn’t like our second period at all. I really liked our start. We turned the puck over and it ended up in the back of our net and we kind of lost our game for the rest of the period.

“I liked the way we battled back in the third and got back to how we played in the first and gave us an opportunity to get a point.”

McCarron put Nashville ahead 1-0 at 8:22 of the first period, redirecting a shot from the point by Roman Josi past the glove of Pickard.

Both of Nashville’s goals came from their fourth line.

“We were hunting pucks, playing the right way as a fourth line, I think,” said McCarron. “I wouldn’t necessarily call us great to start the year. I think we’ve been through our own struggles not only as a line but as a team, individually. We’ve kind of had a couple good games in a row now.

“We’re just hunting pucks, winning puck battles down low. We’re making smarter plays at the lines and we’re just doing what we know how to do best. It’s starting to come back and it’s a lot more fun to play when we play the right way.”

After McDavid tied it with his milestone goal, Nurse put Edmonton ahead 2-1 at 5:30 of the second period with a shot from the bottom of the left circle over the right shoulder of Wedgewood.

Smith tied it 2-2 at 17:12 of the third period. He was sprung on a breakaway by Zachary L'Heureux before going five-hole on Pickard.

“I think the one point’s huge,” Smith said. “I think we’ve got to try to start getting two points here now.

“Obviously, in the second, we had a little bit of a lull and took too long to get back to our game, but we’re proud of our group. [Wedgewood] kept us in it all night, and that was huge for us. To battle back and get at least one (point) is big.”

NOTES: Nashville was 0-for-2 on the power play. Edmonton was 0-for-4. The Predators entered the game with the League's best penalty kill (90.9 percent) while the Oilers were last (61.0 percent). ... Edmonton is 14-1-2 in its past 17 games against Nashville, including 3-0-0 this season (outscored them 12-5). ... McDavid extended his goal streak to three games (three goals) and his point streak to three games (three goals, six assists). ... Draisaitl has factored into 446 of McDavid’s 1,001 points. ... It took McDavid just 58 games to go from 900 points to 1,000.