McDavid's torrid start to season for Oilers 'just not real,' Draisaitl says

EDMONTON – It's hard to fathom what Connor McDavid has done in the first 10 games of the season, even if he is, well, Connor McDavid. 

"What do you want me to say? It's just not real," Edmonton Oilers teammate Leon Draisaitl said. "He's maybe the greatest player to ever play, in my books. It's a pleasure to share the ice with him, a pleasure to learn from him every day. He deserves everything."

With five points (two goals, three assists) for the Edmonton Oilers in a 6-5 shootout win against the Carolina Hurricanes here at Rogers Place on Thursday, McDavid continues to rewrite League history.

McDavid has 31 points (eight goals, 23 assists) in 10 games and is on pace for 260 points over the 84-game season. Wayne Gretzky had the highest-scoring season of all time with 215 points (52 goals, 163 assists) in 80 games with Edmonton in 1985-86. 

McDavid on Thursday became the fourth player in League history to hit the 30-point mark in 10 games or fewer, joining Mario Lemieux, who did it three times with the Pittsburgh Penguins (eight games, 1988-89, nine games 1995-96 and 1992-93), Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders (10 games, in 1984-85) and Gretzky (10 games, 1984-85).

The 29-year-old, now playing in his 12th NHL season, all with Oilers, also became the fourth player in NHL history to have an assist streak of 10 games to start the season. He is the second player in NHL history to have three five-point games within the first 10 games of a season, the other being Lemieux, who did it twice (1992-93 & 1988-89).  

McDavid had five points (one goal, four assists) in a 9-7 win at the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 1, and five (two goals, three assists) in a 6-2 win at the Utah Mammoth on Oct. 17. 

McDavid's fifth career streak of 10 games with at least an assist is also the second longest in NHL history behind Gretzky, who had a streak of at least 10 consecutive games with an assist, 13 times. 

"I feel like he just keeps raising his level. It's impressive," said longtime teammate Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who made his season debut Thursday after missing the first nine games of the season with a lower-body injury. "I've been watching him on TV and even on TV -- when you see it live and in person you appreciate it so much -- but on TV it's pretty special too. 

"I think the way him, Leo (Draisaitl) and (Evan Bouchard) have been scoring in big moments for us, it's not just putting up five points when it's a 5-0 or a 5-1 game, those are big goals, and his level that he's at right now is impressive."

With the win on Thursday, the Oilers improved to 8-1-1 for a League-leading points percentage of .850. 

And as Nugent-Hopkins said, the points McDavid put up were crucial to the win. 

McDavid had an assist on each of Draisaitl's goals against the Hurricanes and also set up Nugent-Hopkins on the power play.

Edmonton battled back from a 4-2 deficit in the third period to tie the game before going down 5-4 at 17:20 of the third period on a goal from Carolina forward Juuso Valimaki. 

McDavid made it 5-5 at 18:32, on a centering pass intended for Draisaitl that bounced in off the skate of Hurricanes forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi, setting up the Oilers' shootout win.  

Since McDavid was selected by Edmonton with the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, he has won the Hart Trophy as the most valuable player in the League three times (2017, 2021, 2023), the Ted Lindsay Award as the most outstanding player, as voted on by his peers, five times (2017, 2018, 2021, 2023, 2026) and the Art Ross Trophy as the top scorer six times (2017, 2018, 1021, 2023, 2026). 

In 804 regular-season games with Edmonton, he has 1,251 points (417 goals, 834 assists). It's the most points by any player in the League since his rookie season of 2015-16. Next on the list is Draisaitl at 1,065 (442 goals, 623 assists) followed by Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche, who has 1,057 (388 goals, 699 assists). 

And he seems to be getting better. 

"You learn, right? When he was 24, he was just as flashy, just as fast but there's little details that maybe weren't as great," Draisaitl said. "Now, his game is as complete as it gets, and he hasn't lost a step offensively. I mean, you really just run out of words."

Though McDavid's 31 points through 10 games is an incredible mark, he's not yet running away with the scoring title; Draisaitl is second 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in 10 games. 

"They're incredible, they're two of the best players in the world," Hurricanes forward Seth Javis said. "It takes everybody in here (to defend them) and everybody got their chances with them, and we have to make sure we're aware when they're on the ice. Some nights that's going to happen and you can see why they're so highly regarded."

The Oilers scored three power-play goals in the win to go with the three they scored in a 4-3 overtime victory against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday. Edmonton has the NHL's second-best power play in the NHL (35.3 percent). 

McDavid has 11 power-play assists and Draisaitl has seven power-play points (five goals, two assists) this season. 

"It's always tough and it feels like they're out there the whole game because they're so talented," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "But when you give them the ice, the power plays, that's death. They're two of the best players maybe ever to play when there's that much space. You can't do that."

Along with playing on the Oilers' top power-play unit, McDavid and Draisaitl are benefitting by playing on the same line. McDavid has 19 even-strength points (seven goals, 12 assists) and is plus-18 on the season. 

"They're special players," Valimaki said. "I think if you limit the penalties, 5-on-5 I felt like we didn't give them that much early on. But it's just like any other player, you get going somehow. You score one and then you get two. They did it on the power play and we just have to try and learn from that. It's just like any other player, you get the feeling, you get hot and you feel like you can do anything out there. Obviously, they're special players."