Connor McDavid passed the 900-point mark for his career with a goal and four assists to lead the host Edmonton Oilers to their sixth straight victory, 5-2, over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.
It was the 10th career game of least five points for McDavid, who became the fifth-fastest player to score 900 points in his career when he assisted on Zach Hyman’s goal in the second period. McDavid did it in his 602nd career game. Wayne Gretzky accomplished the feat the fastest in just 385 games.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two goals and an assist, Hyman had a goal and two assists and Leon Draisaitl added a goal and an assist for Edmonton, which won for the 14th win in the last 17 games. Stuart Skinner made 35 saves to pick up his 15th win.
Travis Konecny had a goal and an assist, Joel Farabee had two assists and Marc Staal also scored for Philadelphia, which suffered its third straight loss. Carter Hart finished with 31 saves.
Edmonton took a 1-0 lead at the 15:55 mark of the first period when McDavid fired a wrist shot from the edge of the right circle that trickled through Hart’s pads. It was McDavid’s 14th goal of the season and 11th in 15 career games against the Flyers.
The Oilers made it 2-0 in the second period when Hyman, cutting down the slot, picked up a no-look backhand pass from McDavid in the right corner and then put in a backhand shot for his team-leading 22nd goal.
Philadelphia cut it to 2-1 a few minutes later when Konecny took a pass from Farabee while cutting down the slot and snapped a wrist shot past Skinner’s glove side for Konecny’s 18th goal of the season. The Flyers tied it with three minutes left in the period on Staal’s first goal of the season, a wrist shot from the left circle.
Edmonton regained the lead, 3-2, with 55 seconds left in the period when Nugent-Hopkins slapped in McDavid’s cross-crease pass from the right doorstep.
Draisaitl made it 4-2 early in the third period on a delayed penalty, one-timing McDavid’s pass from the top of the right circle past Hart’s glove side for Draisaitl’s 18th goal. It also extended his goal streak to four games.
Nugent-Hopkins extended the lead to 5-2 at the 11:19 mark when he tapped in a McDavid crossing pass and ended the scoring.
–Field Level Media
