With his effort against the New York Islanders earlier this season and his fellow Oilers player Leon Draisaitl’s feat against the Ottawa Senators in the 2020–21 season, McDavid, 27, becomes just the third player since 1997 to record six assists in a single game. Additionally, this is the first season where numerous players have had six-assist games since the 1992–93 campaign.
The NHL record of seven assists, set by Wayne Gretzky in 1980, 1985, and 1986, and held by Billy Taylor Sr. in 1947, was only one assist shy of being reached by McDavid.
Along with reaching another significant milestone in the game, the Richmond Hill, Ontario native also became the 600th assist of his career with the third assist that gave the Oilers a 4-3 lead on Tuesday. In just 616 career games, he becomes the fourth-fastest player to reach the milestone. The other players to reach the milestone sooner in their careers are Bobby Orr (608), Mario Lemieux (514), and Wayne Gretzky (416 games).
After a slow start to the season, McDavid has managed to return to his usual self, with 21 goals and 56 assists for 77 points in 47 games. Should the Oilers center play out the rest of the season, his point pace has him finishing with 131 points, which would be the second-highest total in his career but not quite at the level of his 153-point season in 2022-23.
With a 31-17-1 record, the Oilers are now ranked third in the Pacific Division. When they travel to St. Louis to play the Blues on Thursday at 8 p.m. EST, they’ll be hoping to build on their resounding victory over the Red Wings.
