Night of rare statistical milestones in Oilers’ Game 1 comeback over Golden Knights
Coming back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 Tuesday night mattered most for the Edmonton Oilers. But they also accomplished an array of impressive milestones, both team and individual, in the process. Stick tap to Oilers Nation’s Zach Laing for laying out the list cleanly on Twitter.
In rallying to win 4-1 at T-Mobile Arena, Edmonton became the first team in NHL history to record five consecutive come-from-behind victories in the playoffs. In closing out the Los Angeles Kings with four straight wins in Round 1, the Oilers rallied from deficits of 4-2, 2-0, 1-0 and 2-1, and they bounced back from two quick Mark Stone goals in the first period to win 4-2 Tuesday night.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl continue to separate themselves from all other players this millennium in their individual statistical dominance during the postseason. On Tuesday, McDavid became the second-fastest player in NHL history to record 90 career playoff assists, doing so in 81 games. Only Wayne Gretzky (63 games) has done so faster. McDavid also joined former Oilers Gretzky, Jari Kurri and Mark Messier as the only players in NHL history to record at least 10 assists in four consecutive postseasons. McDavid and Draisaitl assisted on the same playoff goal for the 27th time Tuesday night, equalling Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman for the second most all-time, trailing only Gretzky and Kurri at 37.
McDavid’s two-point night brings him to 1.60 points per game in the postseason for his career, third all-time among players with at least 10 games played, and he’s right behind Lemieux for second at 1.61.
The haters need to put some respect on Evan Bouchard’s name, too. He recorded his 50th career playoff assist Tuesday night. The only defenseman in NHL history to get there faster is Mr. Bobby Orr. Bouchard’s 1.12 career points per game in the playoffs puts him comfortably second all-time behind Orr’s 1.24.
The Oilers’ recent streak of comebacks and milestones serves as a reminder that, even if they’re a flawed team, their star power keeps their ceiling as high as any team’s. The Stanley Cup remains a realistic prize for them to chase this spring.