The National Hockey League has not seen a player like Connor McDavid in a long, long time. In fact, the last time an individual with a similar skillset dazzled home and away markets the way that No. 97 continues to do on a nightly basis, McDavid wasn’t even born.
That player would be fellow Edmonton Oilers forward, Wayne Gretzky.
After opening the 2021-22 season with two assists against the Vancouver Canucks, the generational star of the 21st century went on to put up nine points in his next three games, for a four-game total of 11 points. He scored three points once more, while continuing to amass at least one point in each of the next 13 games, racking up 12 goals and 32 points in his opening 17 games.
Scoring a sensational one-on-four goal against the New York Rangers on November 5, fans across the league could not believe their eyes as McDavid re-created a near-identical tally at home against the Winnipeg Jets on November 18.
He scored both times 😳 #McDavid pic.twitter.com/L1eb2CdBo1
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) November 19, 2021
Although his show-stopping goals continue to make highlight reels around the world, his puck control and passing abilities also continue to get recognized.
McDavid averages the most passes per game on the power play among forwards that lead *directly to shot attempts* with 3.3.
Those passes create 0.27 expected goals per game, also 1st among forwards in the NHL. 🥅 pic.twitter.com/kLJuhnKPRg
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 24, 2021
After putting up points in each of his first 17 games of the season, Connor McDavid proved that he was, in fact, human, as he failed to find himself on the stat sheet in Edmonton’s 4-1 loss the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night.
The Oilers fell behind early, trailing Dallas 3-0 midway through the second period, before Ryan McLeod scored his third of the season, with fellow super star Leon Draisaitl picking up one of the helpers. But it was too little, too late for Edmonton, which gave up a third period marker, dropping the game 4-1 and seeing its record slip to 13-5-0, good for second in the Pacific Division.
The Oilers put up a season-low 22 shots in the game, while McDavid and Draisaitl combined to skate in just 41:46 of icetime. Stars’ defenceman Miro Heiskanen helped keep McDavid in check, shutting down the speedy forward for the duration of the contest.
Tuesday’s game was the first since April 29 to which McDavid did not earn at least one goal or assist, bringing his season-opening point streak to an end. The 17-game streak is the eighth-longest point streak to begin a season in NHL history. Dating back to last season, McDavid’s overall point streak spanned 25-straight games.
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