McDavid gets 900th point in style, 'just another number' for Oilers captain

EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid became the fifth-fastest player to reach 900 points and did it in style for the Edmonton Oilers against the Philadelphia Flyers at Rogers Place on Tuesday. 

McDavid set up Zach Hyman with an outstanding behind-the-back pass for the Oilers' second goal in a 5-2 win. He collected the puck in the corner swept to him along the boards by Leon Draisaitl, and with his back to the play, sent a backhand pass by two Flyers to Hyman heading to the net. Hyman took it and lifted a backhand shot past goalie Carter Hart. 

"He does it all the time," Hyman said. "You never know what to expect and it's really fun to play with him, obviously. He just makes plays that nobody else can make. That's why he is who he is.

"I knew he saw me and then I just went there because I figured he was going to get it there somehow. He made an unbelievable play to get it there." 

The assist gave McDavid 900 points in 602 games, putting himself among elite company behind four Hockey Hall of Famers. Wayne Gretzky did it in 385 games, followed by Mario Lemieux (463), Mike Bossy (582) and Peter Stastny (599). 

"For him it's just another number," Hyman said. "He's probably just happy we won, knowing him. But from the outside, he's obviously a generational talent that is able to do that. It's pretty special for the era that he plays in to be in categories with (those) guys. I don't know if anybody is close in recent memory. It's pretty unbelievable and pretty special to be able to play with him." 

McDavid finished with a goal and four assists for his 10th five-point game, the most among active NHL players. His NHL career-best is six points (three goals, three assists) in a 6-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 14, 2019.

The Oilers captain has 903 points (317 goals, 582 assists) in 602 games.

"I have played with him for a long time, 600 games," Edmonton forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "That's a lot of hockey. He always finds a way to bring something to the table. You give him the puck and get open, that is usually the plan. He can usually find a way to beat one or two guys, so you have to find a way to get open for him and support him and do some work for him.

"It is mind-boggling to be able to do that in this day and age, in 600 games. It is pretty crazy to have the impact every night that he does."

The victory against the Flyers extended the Oilers' winning streak to six games. They're 16-6-0 since coach Kris Knoblauch and assistant Paul Coffey took over for Jay Woodcroft and Dave Mason on Nov. 12 and 14-3-0 since Nov. 24.

Knoblauch coached McDavid at Erie in the Ontario Hockey League, where he was well aware of his abilities.

"It looked pretty easy for him," Knoblauch said. "It was nice. He was flying and making unbelievable plays and he did all that tonight, and I couldn't believe he only had 16 1/2 minutes (16:35) of ice time. It was quite remarkable what he was doing, but it never surprises me. I'm over that phase of him surprising me because he's done it so much, you just like to enjoy it."

For McDavid, the milestone is another step in a remarkable career. The No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft has won the Art Ross Trophy as the leading scorer in the NHL five times (2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023), the Hart Trophy voted as NHL most valuable player three times (2017, 2021, 2023) and the Ted Lindsey Award as most outstanding player as voted on by his peers four times (2017, 2018, 2021, 2023). He's still pursuing his first Stanley Cup championship and has the Oilers back on track after a slow start and within a point of the Arizona Coyotes for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.

McDavid is back to his dominant self after an upper-body injury seemed to hamper him early in the season. He missed two games after sustaining the injury in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Oct 21. He had two assists in his next six games following his return.

The five points Tuesday moved McDavid into third in the scoring race with 53 points (20 goals, 41 assists) in 33 games. Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov (63 points; 27 goals, 36 assists in 38 games) is first, ahead of Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (61 points; 20 goals, 41 assists in 38 games).

McDavid had 10 points (two goals, eight assists) and was ranked 131st in NHL scoring Nov. 12.

"It's another nice milestone, one that's kind of along the way," McDavid said of 900 points. "It's a chance to reflect and look back on some of the work you've done and feel good about that."

Edmonton can extend its winning streak to seven games when it hosts the Ottawa Senators on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, CITY).

"We're still working our way out of the hole we created, and it takes these stretches to get out of it," McDavid said. "We've had a few good ones, and we have to keep it rolling. (There were) some ugly times in this room. We know what that's like and we certainly like this side of it a lot better, obviously winning games and feeling good about ourselves. It takes a lot of work and that's what we're doing."