Thursday night, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid can write his name on a new page in the NHL history books.
After a four-point performance against the New York Islanders on Tuesday night in a 4-3 overtime win, the 27-year-old superstar is one point shy from reaching the 1,000-point milestone.
He can reach that mark against the Nashville Predators on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET, a team hes dominated over his career with 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists) in just 23 games against them.
Through 658 career games, the 2015 first-overall selection by Edmonton has 340 goals and 659 assists over his 10 years in the NHL.
Whether he gets to 1,000 points on Thursday or not, McDavid will almost certainly become the fourth-fastest player in NHL history to reach that mark. He has 24 games to get one point and beat Peter Stastny, who reached 1,000 points in 682 games.
Hockey Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky (424 games), Mario Lemieux (513) and Mike Bossy (656) are the only three to reach that milestone faster.
Islanders coach and Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy faced the three of them during their playing days, but more so Gretzky and Lemieux. Tuesday was just his third time coaching against McDavid in the NHL.
I’m not going to compare him with the other guys, Roy told reporters in Edmonton before puck drop on Tuesday morning. I think it’s unfair. Its a different era. But one thing I will say, I mean, he’s a really good player. He skates well, he sees the ice well, attacks the net and is capable of defending well. For these reasons, he is where he is now.
Teams like the Islanders do what they can to try and contain him, but no matter the preparation, most teams suffer the same fate.
That four-point effort against the Islanders to pull within one point of 1,000 showcased exactly why hes been able to rack up the points as quickly as he has.
Just 35 seconds into the second period of a 0-0 game, McDavid danced into the slot on the power play before feeding Leon Draisaitl on the money inside the right dot for a one-time finish for point No. 996.
Then it was McDavid who hustled to track down a loose puck in the opening minute of the third period before a D-to-D pass saw Evan Bouchard wire one in for point No. 997.
Playmaking is certainly a McDavid specialty. But an aggressive play along the half wall in the Islanders zone, followed by a give-and-go with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, allowed him to get off a sneaky backhander from the low slot for point No. 998.
And then, in overtime, McDavid wasted no time, hopping off the bench before he found Draisaitl cutting to the back post for the game-winner and point No. 999.
Theres no situation on the ice where McDavid cant thrive.
I don’t remember the first time I saw him play, but I’ve been seeing him a lot lately, Roy said. I could tell you that he’s got so much speed and skills. We were watching plays on the power play, moves that he could make, and even on 5-on-5, when you let him pick up the puck with speed, he’s definitely a very dangerous player.
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