Connor McDavid the Edmonton Oilers captain has scored twice to boost his NHL-leading goal to 54, setting a career-high with 124 points in a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.
McDavid makes a case to win his third Hart Trophy for MVP in eight seasons, with his 12th multigoal game of the season, aiding the Oilers to secure two crucial points in a packed Western Conference race to the playoffs.
“The finish was all-world,” Jay Woodcroft the Edmonton Oilers coach said about McDavid scoring the first goal on the fly by defeating Craig Anderson through the legs 3:23 into the third period, less than a minute after Buffalo tied the game at 2.
McDavid’s 124 points in 65 games are over the career best he set in 80 games last year, and the All-Star centre took his points streak to 11 games, in which he has 12 goals and 15 assists.
“I saw someone that was competitive right from the puck drop,” Woodcroft said. “Connor’s at a different evolutionary stage in his game right now, and I think everyone saw that here tonight.”
It is not often that a crowd from the Eastern Conference gets to watch Connor McDavid play in person and for that game, they seem to have gotten their money’s worth; although the Sabres failed to pick up two points in their fight for a wild-card berth.
“Who’s more likely to make a big play than him?” Zach Hyman said. “He’s the best player in the world, and he’s pushing his own boundaries. He’s been driving the bus for a long time and continues to get better.”
Derek Ryan scored too, while Stuart Skinner blocked 37 shots for Edmonton, who rose to 5-4-3 in their past 12 and came back from a 7-5 loss at Winnipeg on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Jeff Skinner and Dylan Cozens scored for the Sabres and Anderson blocked 34 shots.
By dropping to 6-4 in its last 10 games, the Sabres resumed its season-long struggles at Buffalo in losing five of their past seven.
The Sabres have been in the middle of an NHL-worst 11-season playoff drought but stay in the mix and have games in hand on most of its competition. The day started with four points demarcating the New York Islanders who were in seventh place from the Buffalo Sabres which are in ninth place; locked in a four-way tie with 68 points.
The Sabres coach Don Granato did not say if he thought McDavid to be a step ahead of everyone else in the league, out of deference to his own players. But, Granato had no other option but to sing the praises of the Oiler’s captain, who scored twice on three shots on net.
“He’s got 50-plus for a reason, he doesn’t need many [shots],” Granato said. “He’s done that to lots of teams and goaltenders, and he was ready for his opportunities. That’s what makes him special.”
The Edmonton Oilers (35-22-8) share a tie with Seattle for third place in the Pacific Divison.
After opening the scoring in the first period, McDavid scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, immediately after Cozens tied the game.
Warren Foegele moved up to the left wing to take the Sabres’ zone and then spun to hit McDavid in stride cutting up the middle. McDavid steered to his left to get by defender Jacob Bryson and fired a shot through Anderson’s legs.
It was McDavid’s ninth game-winning goal of the season after he started the day in a four-way tie for second and one behind teammate Leon Draisaitl.
Connor McDavid and the Oilers will play the NHL-best Boston Bruins next on Thursday night.
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