It may not be too long before Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid finds himself atop the NHL’s leading scorers list.
By his standards, the Oilers captain got off to a rather slow start this season, managing just three goals and 10 points through his first 11 games. It felt like only a matter of time before he popped off, and that’s been exactly the case.
McDavid was able to score the opening goal in a 2-1 win last night versus the Tampa Bay Lightning, giving him 14 on the season. All of a sudden, he finds himself with 11 goals and a ridiculous 28 points over his last 14 contests.
Pro defense tip: don’t let Connor McDavid waltz through three guys down the middle of the ice 🤯 pic.twitter.com/utsvjewq3Q
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 11, 2024
McDavid now sits with 38 points through 25 games and is quickly making his way up the NHL leaderboards. He is tied with a number of players, including teammate Leon Draisaitl, for seventh in NHL scoring.
NHL.com
To little surprise, the Oilers have been rolling over McDavid’s red-hot 14-game stretch, putting together a record of 10-3-1. After struggling to rack up wins early in the season, they now sit third in the Pacific Division and are just five points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for first place.
McDavid isn’t the only Oiler heating up, either. Stuart Skinner, who kicked aside 21 of the 22 shots he faced last night, has posted a SV% of .930 or higher in five straight starts, and six of his last seven.
“He’s been amazing,” Leon Draisaitl said about Skinner last night. “Obviously at times there’s going to be scoring chances and you need a goalie that can save your butt every once in a while. He certainly does that a lot for us.”
Draisaitl hasn’t been a slouch himself. He has six goals over his last eight games and sits with a league-leading 20 on the season.
Though it wasn’t the best of starts for the Oilers, this group appears to be firing on all cylinders and should remain in the hunt to win the division for the remainder of the season.
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