"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."
After beating Nashville’s Scott Wedgewood with a quick shot, McDavid soaked in the moment, listening to the celebrations inside Rogers Place and pointing over to Draisaitl in appreciation before the rest of his Oilers teammates flooded onto the ice to congratulate him from the bench.
"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."
As the crowd cleared, the captain shared a long embrace with Draisaitl and Nurse – two teammates who, along with Nugent-Hopkins, have been there every step of the way.
“Yeah, it's a special moment,” Draisaitl said. “I said it the other day, but this is legendary stuff. So to witness that, to be a part of it and having seen him grow up from when he was 18 when we first met him, it's pretty amazing to be a part of.”
The Predators did end up forcing overtime, but it was McDavid once again coming up with the magic with a behind-the-back pass to Nurse for the game-winner. Nurse finished with two goals and an assist on his 20th goal set up by McDavid during his career, ending the game with the emphatic finish to cap off another terrific McDavid-inspired evening at Rogers Place.
