- Connor McDavid leads the NHL with 23 points in eight games, the best start since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96
- The Oilers captain says he cares more about how the team looks than his own numbers
- Read below for what McDavid and Mike Babcock said about the Draisaitl line
Connor McDavid is off to the best offensive start of his career, and he doesn’t seem all that interested in talking about it.
The Oilers captain leads the NHL with 23 points (six goals, 17 assists) in eight games, with at least one point in every contest. Asked about the pace after Monday’s practice, McDavid pointed somewhere else, per NHL.com’s Derek Van Diest.
“I care more about how the game looks overall, and how it feels out there,” McDavid said. “It’s been good at times, and there’s been times where I feel like I can do more and everyone can do more. That’s more important.”
Edmonton is 6-1-1 under new head coach Mike Babcock. McDavid has already piled up two five-point games, the 15th and 16th of his career. No player has opened a season with more points through eight games since Lemieux had 27 for the Penguins in 1995-96. Here’s our graphic on the pace:
McDavid was asked why the Oilers are rolling. He credited the whole group, even the guys who aren’t filling the stat sheet. Watch the full session on the Oilers’ site.
“Anytime the team plays well, you’re going to have guys have success,” McDavid said. “It’s not necessarily on the stat sheet for everybody, but everybody is playing really well, doing things detailed, structured, playing hard.”
A big piece of the story is Leon Draisaitl. Babcock has kept the two centers together at even strength, along with Vasily Podkolzin, because several forwards are hurt. McDavid said the stretch has been a blast.
“To be able to have a stretch of games playing together, who knows what happens moving forward, but playing together has been so much fun,” McDavid said.
Babcock isn’t sure it lasts. “When we get other people back, that doesn’t mean they’re playing together,” he said. He also took a different view of the numbers. “I like the plus-19, so that would be the focus for me,” Babcock said.
McDavid’s most recent big night came in Saturday’s win over Utah, when he collected five points. This is the steal and finish that gave him the fifth:
He gets his next chance Tuesday night at Rogers Place against Kirill Kaprizov and the Wild, who have their own hot starter in the building.
