The Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks are on completely different levels and that was clear to everyone watching Monday night. Playing host to the Sharks, the Oilers scored their ninth goal with 4:25 remaining in the second period — and hit the brakes after that en route to a 9-2 win.
However, the score was not the biggest story of the night. With an assist in the second period, Connor McDavid became the fourth player in NHL history to record 100 assists in a season. McDavid set a then-career-high with 89 assists last season to go along with a career-best 64 goals.
McDavid joins a trio of Hall of Famers as the only players to top 100 assists in one season. Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr each accomplished the feat one time, while the G.O.A.T., Wayne Gretzky, posted 100+ assists on 11 occasions — Gretzky is the all-time leader with 1,963.
“It means a lot. Those three are obviously three of the greatest players to ever play. To share a little something with them, it means a lot to me,” McDavid said. “It has been a different type of year, but everybody stuck with it, and we’ve put ourselves in a good spot heading in to when it matters most.”
McDavid may not wait long for a fifth player to join the 100-assist group, as Tampa Bay Lightning star Nikita Kucherov has 99 assists with one game remaining.
