BLOG: Oilers eager for victory on potential milestone night for McDavid

EDMONTON, AB – “Legendary-type stuff,” described Leon Draisaitl.

“Remarkable,” reiterated Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

The records and milestones continue to drop for Connor McDavid, who’s on the precipice of becoming the 99th player and the fourth-fastest in NHL history to reach 1,000 points with the potential to accomplish the feat on home ice tonight when the Oilers face the Predators at Rogers Place.

"He doesn't talk about it a whole lot. We talk about it sometimes," added Nugent-Hopkins, who’s been McDavid’s teammate for all 10 of his NHL seasons.

"He knows it's a special milestone to hit and I'm sure he's excited about it, but he's not going to be the guy that's just openly bringing it up and talking about it in the room either."

The enigmatic Oilers captain might shrug it off both in the media and the dressing room, needing just one point tonight to reach 1,000 in what will be his 659th career NHL game, but his teammates aren’t about to downplay the moment entering what could be another one of those unforgettable McDavid nights at Rogers Place.

“First of all, it’s an insane accomplishment that he's about to hit,” said Nugent-Hopkins. “To be the fourth fastest in NHL history, in the era that he's played in, is remarkable. It's been a lot of fun to be a part of and will continue to be a lot of fun to be a part of.”

“Obviously, it's the hardest league in the world to score and get points, and he makes it seem pretty easy at times, but it's definitely not. So for him to do it so consistently on a night in, night out and year in, year out basis, that's why he'll go down as one of the best ever to do it.”

So far, 534 of McDavid’s 999 career points have come on home ice after he added four to that tally in Tuesday's four-point performance, factoring in on all four of Edmonton’s goals in a 4-3 OT victory over the Islanders.

"He takes games over by himself and just imposes his will on teams," said Mattias Ekholm. "And the way he plays, he's the best in the world and proves it every night."

Point No. 535 on home ice for McDavid would mark history, and the incredible moment would be made even better if he could achieve the feat in front of the Oil Country faithful.

Hopefully, another historic night awaits Oil Country, but it would only be acceptable for both McDavid and his teammates if it comes with two points in the standings – a detail that's driving both the captain & his counterparts to make it happen by defeating the Predators for the third and final time this season.

“I think it would be fun to be a part of the immediate celebration,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “I think no matter what, we'll all get a chance to be a little bit of a part of it, so it'll be fun. Obviously, we hope it happens tonight.

“He definitely would want to do it here in front of our fans and see the roof pop off this building tonight, but obviously, in a winning effort, it, it'd be awesome, but we're gonna focus on the playing the game of course. “If he got it done tonight, it would be pretty special.”