For the second goal of the Oilers' 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, the NHL's best offense converted yet another power play. Zero points for guessing the man who picked up the primary assist: Connor McDavid now has a 15-dish lead over the next-highest guy on the league's assist leaderboard, as well as a 12-point lead in overall points. The next two guys on the latter list, by the way, are both Oilers, too.
With the score 1-0 in the second period, and Oliver Bonk serving a two-minute penalty for bonking (OK, fine, interference), McDavid's captured the defense's attention by skating with the puck far out on the left in the attacking zone. In doing so, he was able to give his teammate Zach Hyman a little bit of personal space right in front of the crease. This is the part that he made look easy: He fired a quick centering pass through two alert Flyers and got the puck to an awkward spot right at goalie Dan Vladar's knees. Hyman just had to poke his stick around in there to encourage the biscuit over the line.
The Oilers ended up needing it, as a strong performance by Tristan Jarry in net eventually caved to a couple of Flyer goals that brought about overtime. No matter. Edmonton is able to start three-on-three with the same trio that occupies the top of the points rankings—McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard—and even though they haven't been invincible in the extra period, it was no surprise that the winner arrived from that dominant group. It wasn't the prettiest thing in the world, but it worked. McDavid's centering pass on the rush bounced off a Flyer stick and right to the trailing man Draisaitl. Leon gathered himself, saw the open lane to Bouchard on the opposite side, and got the set-up over there for the concluding one-timer.
A big number to take away from this game is 20. That's how many games the Oilers have played so far, and it's also the number of games in which Connor McDavid has earned a point. The record for season-opening streak is Wayne Gretzky's 51, so he's got a ways to go, but McDavid's only the fourth different player to make it this far, and the first since Dany Heatley in 2005–06.
Edmonton's needed all they can get from their captain, who's set to become a free agent in the summer of 2028. At a glance, they're doing fine. At 14-3-3, they own the NHL's second-best record, behind only the reigning champion Hurricanes. Not to mention, of course, they have the three most productive players in the league today.
But what else do the Oilers have? Nothing. This team possesses the depth of a griddle, and the fact that a few top players are carrying such a burden makes me believe they're primed for one of their patented winter freakouts—especially with a notorious hardass like Mike Babcock as coach. When McDavid and Draisaitl are on the ice together at five-on-five, as they usually are this year, the Oilers are taking 60 percent of the game's shots and scoring a whopping 76 percent of its goals. When both those guys are off the ice, those numbers drop to 39 percent of the game's shots and 38 percent of its goals. The sample size is still small, but so far everyone on this team has the monster threesome that is Ceveon McDraisard to thank for their success.
Particularly with the question marks still remaining at goalie, the Oilers' good mood might quickly turn to panic if their souped-up engine starts to overheat. One might say not to worry about that now, to enjoy the wins as they come and worry about the problems if they arise. To be honest, they might be right! But it wouldn't be very Edmonton of you to do so.
