Connor McDavid Sets Personal-Best in Goals and Points

Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid’s statistics are more befitting the high-scoring 1980s than today’s tighter-checking NHL. The gifted center shows 821 points in 522 games. His scoring rate of 1.487 points per game ranks fourth on the all-time list.

Wayne Gretzky (1.921), Mario Lemieux (1.883) and the late Mike Bossy (1.497) are the only players ahead of him.

But McDavid, like the others on the list, would be a star in any era. This season, McDavid is having the most productive run of his career. The mercurial center scored twice, his 53rd and 54th goals of the season, to help the Oilers down the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 Monday and set a new personal-best of 124 points in a season.

With 17 games left, McDavid is on pace to total 156 points this season. No player has been above 150 points since Lemieux won the Art Ross Trophy with 161 points in the 1995-96 season.

Since then, Nikita Kucherov’s 128-point season in 2018-19 is the best single-season production the NHL has witnessed.

McDavid’s 54 goals are also a career-best. He had never reached 50 goals before this season. He currently owns an 11-game point-scoring streak (12 goals, 15 assists).

The Oilers have needed all of McDavid’s points because they are battling for the playoffs in the Western Conference. After beating the surging Sabres, the Oilers are no better than a wild-card playoff team. They are tied with the Seattle Kraken for third in the Pacific Division, but Seattle has played three fewer games.

McDavid’s point total is pure entertainment, but points are not his objective. What he wants is a shot at the Stanley Cup. He reached the Western Conference Finals last season. But he wants more.

🔥 Tyler Toffoli roofs a breakaway with 6.2 seconds left in regulation to down the Dallas Stars 5-4. The 30-year-old sharpshooter showcased his lightning quick release and pinpoint accuracy as he shot in stride over the glove of Stars netminder Jake Oettinger for his 26th goal of the season. Newly acquired Nick Ritchie buried his 10th goal on the year in his Flames debut while Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri, and MacKenzie Weegar all collected two assists as the Flames ended their 5-game losing streak. Calgary stands 5 points back from the final Western Conference wild card spot with 18 games remaining on their schedule.

✌️ Seth Jones scores a pair and Alex Stalock makes 35 saves to shutout the Senators 5-0. Hawks' defenseman Seth Jones scored two minutes into the second period to extend his goal streak to 3 games and added his second of the game just over three minutes later off a nice give-and-go with recently-acquired Anders Bjork. While 35-year-old netminder Alex Stalock collected his 2nd shutout of the season and 11th of his career to end the Ottawa Senators win streak at five games. The Chicago Blackhawks hold the second lowest point total in the NHL, behind only the Columbus Blue Jackets as both franchises pray to win the Connor Bedard draft lottery this summer.

Vancouver Canucks' forward Elias Pettersson collected his 300th career point last night in his 306th career game, making him the second fastest player in Canucks' history to reach 300 points. What Vancouver Canuck did it faster?

• Kings stay hot at home with win over Ovechkin, Capitals

• Couture, Sharks rally for OT victory against Jets

• Pettersson pots milestone as Canucks edge Predators in shootout

• Oilers' Skinner shines in win over Sabres, looks ready to seize starting role

• O'Reilly placed on LTIR with broken finger, but expected back before playoffs

• Four NHL storylines to watch for the rest of the regular season

• Why the NHL may want to make the Senators a billion dollar team [video]

• Klingberg gets hair brushed by Reaves at locker

• Wisconsin fires Tony Granato as Badgers men's hockey coach

• Blues sign college FA Malmstrom to two-year, entry-level deal

• 🚀 Elias Pettersson unleashes rocket wrister high glove to open scoring

• 🦂 James Reimer robs Morgan Barron with desperation scorpion save

• 💥 T.J. Oshie lays out Sean Durzi with neutral zone open-ice hit

• ™️ Alex Ovechkin scores trademark power play one-timer

• 🍾 Logan Couture goes 5-hole on the breakaway for OT winner

• Slovakian 3-Pass and Shot Drill

• 2 drills to dangle like Ovechkin

• Off-ice hockey-specific quickness drills

Pavel Bure holds the Vancouver Canucks record for fastest to 300 career points, requiring just 246 games achieve the feat.