Connor McDavid didn’t waste any time making Madison Square Garden his stage again.
In Edmonton’s 4-1 win over the New York Rangers on Sunday night, McDavid struck just 50 seconds into the game, slicing through the neutral zone before leaving Vladislav Gavrikov’s jockstrap in the rafters. He finished the move by chipping the puck short side past Dylan Garand, a goal that had the 18,006 in the building reacting fast - including the kids in the front row behind the Rangers net.
That was only part of McDavid’s night. In his 15th game of the season, he also became the fastest player in NHL history to reach 30 assists in a season, setting up Evan Bouchard later in the game. He got there in 15 games, one quicker than Wayne Gretzky, who did it in 16 games in 1984-85.
Afterward, McDavid brushed aside the milestone talk and pointed back to the team around him.
“You know what, it’s actually been really fun to have new things here in Edmonton,” said McDavid after the game, when asked if he takes time to reflect and appreciate milestones like these. “It’s been really fun to just dive in and just have to sink your teeth into a new system, a new kind of way of playing, and it’s kind of left my own game secondary.
“(I’m) just trying to take care of the things that I need to do within the system. Those things have been happening and it’s kind of just been a byproduct of everybody playing well.
When the team is winning games, individual stuff happens like that. (I’ve) definitely been the benefactor of some great team play.”
Edmonton got more than one boost from its new setup. Colton Dach, who began the season in the middle because of injuries and the coach’s trust in his ability to handle the position, has moved back to wing and looked like a different player.
Against the Rangers, that showed up in a two-goal outing. He opened the scoring 6:19 into the first period by sending the puck through Garand’s five-hole, then later added an empty-netter to put the game away.
Matt Tomkins also made the most of his opportunity. In his first start for the Oilers - and his first NHL appearance since April 2014 - he stopped 27 of 28 shots and helped Edmonton survive the Rangers’ push.
“I thought he was good,” said Oilers head coach Mike Babcock about Tomkins’ performance. “I thought we were fortunate to get off to a good start, and I think that makes your goalie feel comfortable.
“When we needed him in the second, when we weren’t as good, I thought he was real good. He’s got to feel good about himself, and we feel good about it. Anytime you give up one goal, it’s a real positive thing.”
The bigger picture for Edmonton keeps leaning in a direction plenty of people have wanted to see: defend first, attack second. The Oilers are prioritizing their own end before they think about piling up offense, and the results have followed. Outside of their first two games of the season, when they allowed a combined 13 goals against the Vancouver Canucks, they’ve given up just 1.81 goals against per hour at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick, which ranks fourth in the league.
They’ve also now gone through a three-game stretch in which they allowed only one goal against, the eighth time that has happened in franchise history and just the third time in the regular season.
Edmonton’s road trip wraps up against the New Jersey Devils next, and that stop comes with its own baggage. The Oilers have lost their last four games at Prudential Center, being outscored 13-6 in those meetings.
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