Connor McDavid has matched one of hockey’s most exclusive clubs. The Edmonton Oilers captain has 17 assists through his first eight games this season, tying the mark set by Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux for the most helpers to open a campaign in NHL history.
McDavid reached the number during Edmonton’s 6-2 win over the Utah Mammoth on Oct. 17, a game in which he posted two goals and three assists. The five-point outing also kept alive his point streak to start the season, now at eight straight games without being shut out.
The Main Development
The assist total puts McDavid in rare company. Only Gretzky and Lemieux, two of the sport’s most decorated scorers, had produced 17 assists in their first eight games of a season before McDavid did it this year, according to CBS Sports. McDavid has not gone pointless in a single game this season, a streak that now covers all eight contests played.
His performance against Utah also included a quicker piece of history. McDavid scored just 40 seconds into the first period, tying Mark Messier’s Oilers franchise record of seven career goals scored in the opening minute of a game, according to NHL.com.
What It Means
McDavid now has 23 points this season, six goals and 17 assists, which leads the entire NHL through the opening stretch of games. The assist pace alone places him alongside two players widely regarded as the greatest to ever play the position, a comparison that will follow McDavid as the season continues.
Matching Gretzky and Lemieux in any statistical category carries weight given both players’ standing in the league’s record book. The fact that McDavid has done it through playmaking rather than goal scoring underscores the role he has taken on early this season, setting up teammates at a rate neither Hall of Famer exceeded over an identical sample size.
Context
McDavid’s five-point night against Utah came in a 6-2 Edmonton victory, detailed further in Total Apex Sports’ recap of the Oilers’ rout of the Mammoth. The goal he scored 40 seconds into the game tied him with Messier on the franchise’s opening-minute scoring list, a mark that speaks to McDavid’s track record of producing immediately once a game starts.
The Oilers have leaned on McDavid’s production in a season that has also featured contributions from teammates such as Evan Bouchard, who scored twice in Edmonton’s win over the Anaheim Ducks, detailed in Total Apex Sports’ coverage of that game. McDavid also factored into a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings earlier this season, setting up Vasily Podkolzin twice, as covered in Total Apex Sports’ report on that matchup.
What’s Next
Edmonton faced the Carolina Hurricanes on Oct. 22, with further details available in Total Apex Sports’ coverage of that matchup. McDavid’s point streak and his shared claim to the assist record will remain storylines as the Oilers continue their schedule and McDavid looks to build on his league-leading 23 points.
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