Oilers’ Game 2 overtime goal the first in NHL history to include three Hart Trophy Winners
The Edmonton Oilers continued to make history on Thursday night in their OT Game 2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights.
The winner from Leon Draisaitl at the 15:20 mark of the extra period, which Connor McDavid and Corey Perry assisted, was the first OT goal in NHL history featuring three players who had previously won the Hart Trophy as MVP of the regular season.
Draisaitl finished off a threaded pass on a two-on-one from McDavid, to give the Oilers the 2-0 advantage in the series, heading into Games 3 and 4 at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
MCDAVID TO DRAISAITL 🚨
Connor McDavid makes a beautiful move to set up Leon Draisaitl for the @Energizer overtime winner in Game 2! #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/DkMXp2kuhw
“When you’ve got elite talent, those game breakers, they just need a moment or an opportunity to make that play,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said. “Not too often they’re quiet for an entire game, and don’t show up on the score sheet. Tonight, when we needed them the most, they made the heck of a play there.”
McDavid, who picked up the primary assist, boasts Hart Trophies from the 2022-23, 2020-21, and 2016-17 seasons, with his best regular season points total coming in his most recent win, when he scored 64 goals and 153 points through all 82 games.
Since making his NHL debut in 2015-16, McDavid has crested 100 points in eight seasons.
Draisaitl, meanwhile, scored 43 goals and 110 points in his Hart Trophy-winning season in 2019-20 while only playing 71 games. However, his career high came in 2022-23, when he netted 52 goals and 128 points.
Perry won his Hart Trophy while playing for the Anaheim Ducks in 2010-11. He scored 50 goals and 98 points, helping the Ducks to a 47–30–5 record before they lost in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to the Nashville Predators.
The Hart Trophy trio will look to lead the Oilers to a 3-0 series lead when they hit the ice for Game 3 on Saturday night.