GAME RECAP: Oilers 3, Predators 2 (OT)

EDMONTON, AB – It seemed inevitable that Connor McDavid would make Thursday night a milestone occasion.

And it certainly was.

The Oilers captain surpassed 1,000 career points on Thursday night with a goal and an assist in Edmonton's 3-2 overtime victory over Nashville, reaching the historic mark with the tying goal in the second period before he capped off his milestone evening with an incredible no-look pass to Darnell Nurse 2:27 into overtime for the game-winner.

McDavid became the 99th player and the fourth fastest in NHL history to reach the milestone, accomplishing the feat in his 659th career NHL game by converting a one-timer past goaltender Scott Wedgewood during an odd-man rush with Leon Draisaitl that came three minutes into the second period.

"Some of these things have kind of hit me a little bit more emotionally than I would have thought," McDavid said post-game. "You spend your whole life playing hockey and loving the game just wanting to play and make the NHL. A thousand points later, I've been doing it for 10 years now, and it's pretty special. You take it for granted sometimes, and these moments give you a chance to look back and be grateful."

After the Predators tied the game late in regulation, McDavid set up Nurse in overtime with a blind backhand pass that his teammate buried for his second goal of the game, earning the Oilers the extra point and completing the season sweep of Nashville with their third victory over the Predators this campaign.

"It's a special moment," Draisaitl said post-game. "I said it the other day, but this is legendary stuff. So to witness that, having seen him grow up from when he was 18 when we first met him, it's pretty amazing to be a part of."

Nurse had two goals and an assist in the victory, while Leon Draisaitl had two assists to help McDavid reach 1,000 career points and improve Edmonton's overall record to 9-7-1 this season with their second straight win in overtime.

The Oilers will now embark on an Eastern road trip where they'll play the Maple Leafs (Nov. 16), Canadiens (Nov. 18) and Senators (Nov. 19).

FIRST PERIOD

McDavid's milestone watch nearly ended before it even began on a terrific opening chance from the captain only 35 seconds into the game put all of Oil Country and the hockey world on alert for his 1,000th point – if they weren't already locked onto Edmonton's leader.

It took mere moments for McDavid to get his first crack at hitting the milestone when he earned an opportunity to jam home a chance at the near post when Scott Wedgewood slid too far out of the Nashville crease, leaving him an avenue to exploit the space by attacking from below the goal line.

"It was only a matter of time, but I felt good tonight," McDavid said. "I had lots of looks."

The Oilers & their captain then had a look with the man advantage before the five-minute mark that they failed to convert before the Predators managed to pull ahead on their first shot on goal against Calvin Pickard, who didn't have much of a chance to track a Michael McCarron deflection from the top of the circles.

Defenceman Roman Josi picked out Nashville's fourth-line centre with a slap-pass that was redirected perfectly over Pickard's left shoulder from the slot for the 1-0 lead, solving the netminder on their first shot after the Oilers had controlled the majority of the opening 8:22 of play on Thursday night.

Minutes later, Filip Forsberg struck the opposite post from the left circle in a near-miss for the Oilers, who trailed 1-0 through 20 minutes after the Nashville sniper just missed his chance to make it a two-goal game.

SECOND PERIOD

McDavid's 1,000th NHL point arrived three minutes into the middle frame when he barrelled down the ice on an odd-man rush with none other than Leon Draisaitl, who combined with his other half of the Dynamic Duo on a goal for the 445th time during their careers by setting up his captain to score the milestone marker.

"My dad made the trip today, so it was never not going to be tonight," McDavid said. "I had to make it happen and make his trip worthwhile. Otherwise, it would have been a long flight home for him tomorrow, so I wanted to make it worth his while and happy he was here."

Darnell Nurse took advantage of a wayward pass from Jonathan Marchessault near the Nashville bench by moving the puck up ice to Draisaitl, who had momentary thoughts about shooting on the two-on-one before he passed it off to McDavid for a quick one-timer past Wedgewood for his 1,000th point.

"He could've had three guys all over him and I would've still tried to get it to him," Draisaitl said. "Every guy on our team would have done the same thing, and he deserves that. That just shows you how much we love him and how much we appreciate everything he does for our organization."

McDavid became the 99th player in League history to reach 1,000 points, accomplishing the feat in only 659 games – making him the fourth-fastest player to reach the mark ahead of Peter Stastny (682) and trailing only Wayne Gretzky, (424), Mario Lemieux (513) and Mike Bossy (656).

The captain was mobbed by his teammates after they flooded off the Oilers bench in acknowledgement of the historic moment before he shared a lengthy embrace with long-time teammates Draisaitl and Nurse in the corner as Rogers Place stood in ovation of what he just accomplished.

"Just seeing the way the players reacted, that means the world to me. It means everything to me," McDavid said. "Seeing my teammates happy and hearing the fans, that stuff means more to me than any of the numbers or anything like that. So it was a really special moment, honestly, and these milestones – I said the other day – it's a great time to reflect and look back, and it's been a good ten years.

"Hopefully, ten more good ones."

McDavid, Draisaitl and Nurse would combine on the scoresheet for the first of two times on Thursday night – a notable detail considering they're two of the captain's longest-tenured teammates alongside Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

"It's pretty fitting, actually," Draisaitl said. "If there's a third assist, you'd like to get Nuge in there as well, but Nuggy was great tonight. It's certainly fitting. All three of us kind of came in at the same time, year after year for three years in a row, and we've known each other for a long time. You become lifelong friends off the ice and it's a good story."

"It's kind of funny how it works out that way sometimes, and it's pretty special that it came from Leo and Nurse," McDavid added. "Darnell made a great play on it, too."

The Oilers rolled on for the rest of the period and outshot the Predators 15-4, turning the momentum from McDavid's milestone marker into a 2-1 lead before the intermission courtesy of a snipe from Darnell Nurse that came just 2:44 later.

Following an Oilers zone entry, Brett Kulak came off the Oilers bench and took a lay-off pass from Mattias Janmark before he moved it quickly to the far side for Nurse, who walked down into the left circle and caught Wedgewood off guard with a wicked release that nestled into the top echelon of Nashville's net from a tight angle.

Nurse's tally was his first goal this season and went along with his assist on McDavid's 1,000th point to make it eight points (1G, 7A) in 17 games for the Hamilton product, who also increased his totals against Nashville in recent games to 13 points (3G, 10A) over their last 13 meetings.

"A lot of it's moving his feet, more confidence with the puck and being able to join the rush and make good plays," Knoblauch said of Nurse. "A lot of it is in the defensive zone, usually winning a race for a puck and rather than just batting it out to another area where it's going to be another battle, he's been able to fend off a checker and whether spin off him and find a forward to pass the puck to. There's been a lot of nice little plays like that he's been making."

THIRD PERIOD

The Predators were out to spoil the party.

With the Oilers trying to see out the final minutes with their one-goal lead intact, Nashville was able to counter up the ice quickly off a feed from Zachary L'Heureux in his own end to Craig Smith, who found space in the neutral zone for a partial breakaway where he squeaked the equalizer five-hole under Pickard with 2:48 left in regulation despite the pressure from two back-tracking Oilers skaters.

Overtime would be needed, and there was still plenty of magic left on McDavid's stick for the game-winning goal in the extra frame, where the captain would amaze once again with his 1,001st career point that resulted in the Oilers claiming the extra point.

"We didn't give up too much," McDavid said. "I don't love that we give up a breakaway with three minutes to go with a one-goal lead, and there are things to clean up for sure, but a lot of positive signs. I thought tonight we looked really good."

"We needed to win this game," Draisaitl said. "We would've liked to tighten that last play up a little bit, but it was a good ending for us."

OVERTIME

It was simply an incredible finish to an amazing night for McDavid and the Oilers.

McDavid was late arriving on the play that resulted in Nurse's game-winning goal, with the Oilers captain evading attention in the neutral zone before exchanging a pass with Draisaitl inside the blueline and dangled his way into the slot, where he sent the perfect no-look pass to Nurse in the right circle.

"You got a sense for it," Nurse said. "We've been in that situation a few times over the course of 10 years, so you just sit there, and between him and Leon if you find the soft ice, they're going to find you."

Nurse nestled his effort past Wedgewood into the left side of Nashville's net, securing his team the extra point on his second goal of the game that came with 2:37 left in the extra period.

"It's nice to chip in," Nurse said. "Whenever you have your opportunities, you want to make the most of them and tonight I was able to do that by putting myself in the right spot. So I've got to continue to do more and more of that and convert what I can, but I think it was a huge win for us."

McDavid's new quest for 2,000 career points is off to a great start.

"If not him, then who else? That's the only question," Draisaitl said. "I never bet against Connor McDavid. I've learned that over the last 10 years, and it wouldn't surprise me.