Connor McDavid extends season-opening point streak to 19 as Oilers beat Rangers 3-1 at Rogers Place

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Connor McDavid extended his season-opening point streak to 19 games with a goal, as the Edmonton Oilers defeated the New York Rangers 3-1 on Monday at Rogers Place.

McDavid became the fourth player in NHL history to reach a season-opening point streak of at least 19 games, and the first since Dany Heatley recorded a 22-game run from Oct. 5 to Nov. 29, 2005. The NHL.com recap notes the other players who have achieved similar starts include Wayne Gretzky, whose longest such streak was 51 games from Oct. 5, 1983 to Jan. 27, 1984, and Mats Sundin, who posted a 30-game run from Oct. 8 to Dec. 10, 1992. During the current point streak, McDavid has 48 points, consisting of 11 goals and 37 assists.

Edmonton drew first blood at 6:42 of the first period when McDavid capitalized on a Rangers turnover. New York goalie Dylan Garand went behind his own net to play the puck, but his attempted pass bounced off the back of the cage, and McDavid pounced on the loose puck at the right post for the opening goal.

Oilers head coach Mike Babcock credited the team’s process after taking the lead, saying the club needed to “find a way to win every night” and emphasizing Edmonton’s ability to score and then check after the goals. Babcock also referenced the third period as the point in the game when Edmonton won key battles, adding that Leon Draisaitl played a significant role in those outcomes.

Draisaitl scored twice for Edmonton for the second straight game, and the Oilers improved to a 13-3-3 record. Devon Levi made 28 saves for Edmonton as New York goalie Dylan Garand finished with 17 saves. New York, which had entered the game after winning three straight, fell to a 10-8-1 record.

The Oilers made it 2-0 at 2:59 of the second period when Draisaitl converted from the slot. The play started after Vasily Podkolzin mishandled a slap-pass to the slot from Mattias Ekholm; Draisaitl then collected the bouncing puck and fired a wrist shot through the legs of Garand. The Rangers challenged for goaltender interference, but the NHL notes the goal was upheld after video review.

Jaroslav Chmelar scored the Rangers’ only goal at 5:05 while Edmonton was on a penalty kill, cutting the deficit to 2-1. After New York killed the first penalty of a 5-on-3, Mika Zibanejad sent a stretch pass from the Rangers’ defensive zone to Chmelar, who was fresh out of the penalty box. Chmelar then skated into the offensive zone and scored a wrist shot glove-side on Levi from the right circle.

In the third period, New York created an opportunity late by pulling Garand for a 6-on-4 advantage with 1:27 remaining after Edmonton defenseman Ryan Shea received a penalty for tripping Alexis Lafreniere. Draisaitl then scored a short-handed empty-net goal from the Oilers’ defensive zone at 18:47 to close out the 3-1 final.

Edmonton’s Levi described the late sequence as a defensive effort, including “huge plays” and the importance of McDavid’s battle at the end. Levi also credited Draisaitl’s empty-net finish, noting that if Draisaitl had not scored there, New York would have continued to have an extended 6-on-4 advantage.

The NHL recap also included several historical and statistical notes about the performance. McDavid became the fourth player to reach 48 or more points before his 20th game of a season, joining Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky and Joe Malone on that list. The same recap states that McDavid’s 18-game assist streak ended, tied with Adam Oates for the second-longest total in NHL history. It also reports Draisaitl has six goals during a four-game goal streak and 12 points during a six-game point streak, while Ekholm has four points over a four-game stretch.

Additional notes from the league recap highlighted Zibanejad’s milestone for short-handed production, stating he recorded his 36th career short-handed point, passing Mikael Backlund for the fourth-most by a Swedish player in NHL history. The recap adds that only Mats Sundin, Daniel Alfredsson and Nicklas Lidstrom have more short-handed points among Swedish players in NHL history.