The Edmonton Oilers captain finished Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena with 1,237 career points on 413 goals and 824 assists. Only two players have ever reached the 800-game mark with more: Gretzky with 1,892 points on 2 December 1989, and Lemieux with 1,580 on 12 January 2002.
McDavid had a hand in every Oilers goal. He set up Leon Draisaitl for the opener at 7:16 of the first period, then fed Vasily Podkolzin on the power play a minute later. He scored himself at 15:48, taking a stretch pass from Ty Emberson on a breakaway and beating Darcy Kuemper on the backhand. Kuemper was pulled for Anton Forsberg. McDavid’s fourth point came on Podkolzin’s empty-netter in the third.
His verdict on the performance was dry.
“It wasn’t an oil painting tonight for sure,” McDavid said.
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He was warmer about the chemistry with his longtime linemate.
“Leon’s one of the best players in the world. And to be able to play with him … it’s been a lot of fun.”
Only Gretzky and Lemieux reached 800 with more
Gretzky and Lemieux built their numbers in an NHL that scored far more freely. McDavid has reached 1,237 points in a league that is faster, more structured and much harder to score in.
The next names on the list are a long way back. Behind McDavid sit Mike Bossy on 1,126 points through 800 games, Peter Stastny on 1,108 and Guy Lafleur on 1,106.
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“A lot of runway left”
McDavid is not treating the milestone as a destination.
“It’s been a fun ride. Hard to imagine 800 games, but I’ve got a lot of runway left and a lot of games left. A lot of good times ahead,” he told Sportsnet’s Gene Principe after the game, according to TMSPN.
Levi wins his fourth as Kings lose a fifth
Edmonton moved to 5-0-1 on the season and 4-0-0 on the road. First-year head coach Mike Babcock spread the credit around in his postgame remarks.
“I didn’t think at any time we were fantastic tonight, but McDavid and the big boys were great,” Babcock said.
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Rookie goaltender Devon Levi stopped 39 of 40 shots for his fourth straight win. Podkolzin scored twice and extended his point streak to six games.
Los Angeles dropped to 0-3-2. The Kings have lost five in a row and been held to a single goal in three consecutive games. Brandt Clarke’s second-period strike was the only puck to beat Levi.
“It’s not good enough right now, and we got to figure it out fast. There’s a lot of games left,” Kings forward Trevor Moore said.
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