BLOG: Oilers look to make history on McDavid's birthday

MONTREAL, QC – Connor McDavid was asked following morning skate at Bell Centre what his "birthday wish" is since the Oilers captain turns 27 on Saturday.

"10 straight wins," he said matter-of-factly as his squad will look to set a new franchise record when they face the Montreal Canadiens on Hockey Night in Canada.

For the third time in team history, the Oilers have gone nine consecutive games without a defeat, but they've never been able to hit double digits during their 43 seasons in the National Hockey League.

"Any time you can set a franchise record, that's exciting, especially with an organization as storied as the Oilers are," McDavid said. "It's amazing to think that none of those 80s teams would have won 10 in a row, but a good opportunity for us tonight."

Setting the franchise record in what's often referred to as the "Mecca of Hockey" would bring a little extra excitement to the achievement, McDavid added.

"It's one of my favourite buildings to play in," he said. "The fans are so into the game. There's something about this rink that it's always fun playing here. I always enjoy it and look forward tonight."

Zach Hyman echoed his teammate's sentiment about circling the visit to Montreal on the calendar.

"Yeah, it's fun, it's awesome," he said. "Fans here are very passionate, very loud and the building is special to play in with a lot of history here. As a kid growing up, I watched a ton of games on Saturday night in this building, so it's a special place to play in and I've always enjoyed it."

Hyman said the challenge will be to not let the milestone opportunity take away from their game plan.

"We just have to look at it as another game and go out there and do our best to try and win it," he said. "But obviously we've put ourselves in a position to do something pretty cool, pretty unique and special, so it would be a great night to get it against Montreal in Montreal in this building."

The last team to win 10 consecutive games was the Boston Bruins last season (Feb. 14 to March 4), while the New Jersey Devils (13) and Carolina Hurricanes (11) had even longer streaks earlier in 2022-23.