Draisaitl Shines with Three Assists as Oilers Edge Past Bruins 3-2 in OT
When Leon Draisaitl witnessed his teammate Connor McDavid receive a silver stick for reaching 1,000 points earlier this season, he desired one for himself. Draisaitl has been racking up points recently, providing assists on all three goals Thursday to hit the 900-point milestone as the Edmonton Oilers rallied for a 3-2 overtime win against the Boston Bruins.
At 1:04 of overtime, Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman stopped Draisaitl’s initial shot, but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was positioned to gather the rebound and pass it to Mattias Ekholm, who netted his fourth goal of the season to clinch the win. Draisaitl has now achieved multi-point outings in seven straight games. He has accumulated 18 points during this period.
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The 29-year-old German talent stated that hitting the 900-point milestone in his career is an important accomplishment. Draisaitl reached the milestone in 751 games, marking the fifth-fastest for any player not born in North America. Draisaitl is at the top of the NHL with 23 goals and ranks second in the league with 50 points.
Zach Hyman scored a goal and provided an assist, bringing his total to eight goals in the seven games played since his return from injury. McDavid netted a goal for the Oilers (19-11-2), who have secured victory in nine of their past 11 games. Stuart Skinner recorded 24 saves for the Oilers. Elias Lindholm and Mark Kastelic scored for the Bruins (17-13-4), who had their brief two-game winning streak come to an end. Swayman recorded 23 saves for the Bruins.
The Edmonton Oilers have had the privilege of witnessing greatness twice. First, Wayne Gretzky led the team to four Stanley Cup championships during the 1980s, cementing his legacy with numerous records, many of which remain unbroken to this day.
Now, the torch of greatness has been passed to Connor McDavid, who has been making history of his own. While McDavid has already surpassed several of Gretzky’s records, he remains a strong contender to challenge even more. Recently, he added another remarkable feat to his growing list of achievements.
McDavid is now one of only three players in NHL history to maintain an average of at least one assist per game throughout their career. Connor McDavid stood up for Edmonton, forcing the game-tying goal with just 2:21 remaining in regulation.
The other two legends on this exclusive list are Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky. McDavid has recorded 674 assists in 672 games, joining Lemieux, who achieved 1,033 assists in 915 games, and Gretzky, who amassed an incredible 1,963 assists in 1,487 games.
Earlier this year, McDavid reached the extraordinary milestone of 1,000 career points, and he hasn’t slowed down since. His career total now stands at 1,023 points.
This season, McDavid has already tallied 41 points in 27 games. Currently riding a five-game point streak, he has recorded five goals and eight assists during this span. After a relatively slow start, McDavid has been surging, and with 52 games left in the Oilers’ season, there’s little doubt he’ll add many more records to his name before the playoffs.
Image Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
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