Connor McDavid is the NHL‘s First Star of the Month for October after a historic run of playmaking that helped push the Edmonton Oilers to the top of the Western Conference, the league announced. Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov took the Second Star and Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov earned the Third Star, according to NHL.com.
McDavid posted 8 goals and 27 assists for 35 points in 13 games during October, numbers that placed him among the most productive single months in league history and set the tone for a season-opening stretch unlike any the NHL has seen in decades.
The Main Development
McDavid’s 27 assists in October were the most by any player in a single October in NHL history, topping Mario Lemieux’s 22 assists in October 1988 and the mark Wayne Gretzky set in October 1986, according to NHL.com. His 35 points ranked third all time for the month, trailing only Lemieux’s 38 points in October 1988 and 36 points in October 1992.
The Oilers center also extended his season-opening assist streak to 14 games, breaking the previous NHL record of 12 games shared by Sebastian Aho in 2018-19, Ken Linseman in 1985-86 and Gretzky in 1982-83. McDavid’s pursuit of that record had been building for weeks before the league made October’s honors official.
Kaprizov scored 14 goals and added 10 assists for 24 points across 15 games, a stretch that included a hat trick with an assist on Oct. 10 against Florida. His 14 goals tied his own franchise record for a calendar month, first set in March 2022, and were the most by any NHL player in October since Alex Ovechkin scored 14 in October 2009, per NHL.com. Kochetkov went 8-0 with a 1.62 goals-against average through October, according to Yahoo Sports.
What It Means
McDavid’s edge over the rest of the league was not close. He finished the month 11 assists and 10 points ahead of the second-ranked player in each category, NHL.com reported. He also led the NHL in October with 20 even-strength points and paced all skaters with 14 power-play points and 14 power-play assists, while leading forwards in average ice time at 23:32 and finishing second in the league in plus/minus at plus-17.
Edmonton went 10-2-1 in October to finish atop the Western Conference, a run that coincided with new coach Mike Babcock keeping McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin together as a line for most of the season, according to Yahoo Sports. Minnesota went 9-3-3 to finish first in the Central Division behind Kaprizov’s scoring.
Context And Background
McDavid, 29, is a six-time Art Ross Trophy winner and the reigning recipient of the award. Through 14 games this season, he has 8 goals and 29 assists for 37 points, the best total in the league. No player in NHL history had previously recorded more than 29 assists in a team’s first 14 games of a season, surpassing the old mark of 25 shared by Gretzky, who did it three times, and Lemieux, who did it once.
Only Lemieux has produced more points through a season’s first 14 games than McDavid’s 37, with 42 in both 1995-96 and 1992-93 and 41 in 1988-89. McDavid’s pace through his opening games had already drawn comparisons from ESPN‘s Wyshynski to the possibility of a 200-point season, a total no player has reached since Gretzky in the 1980s.
Kaprizov, also 29, has 244 goals and 255 assists for 499 points in 412 career games, all with Minnesota. His October performance included 10 even-strength goals, tied for first in the league, and three game-winning goals, tied for second. He averaged 21:44 of ice time, sixth among forwards, and recorded 51 shots on goal, tied for seventh.
What’s Next
The Oilers carry their 10-2-1 October record and conference-leading position into November, with McDavid’s assist streak and scoring pace likely to remain the league’s most closely tracked storyline. Edmonton’s recent stretch has included wins over the Seattle Kraken and a shootout loss to Detroit, and the team’s next results will determine whether McDavid can sustain the historic production that defined his October.
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