Edmonton Oilers

NHL Fans Watch In Awe As Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid Clips Detroit Red Wings With 6-Assist Effort

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Jeff Hawkins
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4 min read
Edmonton Oilers v New York Islanders

After producing a career-best six assists during the Edmonton Oilers’ eighth consecutive home win Tuesday night, Connor McDavid shrugged off a performance bested by only two players in NHL history.

Wayne Gretzky collected seven assists in a game three times and former Red Wing Billy Taylor Sr. accomplished the feat in 1947.

“I play with some good players, obviously, and tonight was a good night,” McDavid said after an 8-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings at Rogers Place. The Oilers pulled away with five third-period goals.

While McDavid remained unimpressed, teammate Dylan Holloway, who benefited from one his helpers, heaped praise on the league’s co-leader with 56 helpers.

“It’s unbelievable,” Holloway said, as reported by The Associated Press. “You can only dream of a game like that. It’s pretty incredible. It’s fun to watch.”

On Holloway’s hustling third-period marker, McDavid became the fourth fastest skater to reach the 600-assist milestone.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins paced the Oilers’ scoring surge with two goals and Leon Draisaitl, Cody Ceci, Evan Bouchard, Holloway, Zach Hyman and Evander Kane also connected for the Oilers (31-17-1), who have captured eight consecutive home games.

The Red Wings fell to 27-19-6.

X (Twitter) users replied to McDavid being McDavid and the response he received from his fans …

McDavid was the third player in 25 years to collect six assists in a game, joining Kris Letang (Dec. 27, 2023) and Leon Draisaitl (Jan. 31, 2021) …

McDavid has compiled 603 assists in 616 career games. Only three skaters beat him to the milestone: Wayne Gretzky (416 games), Mario Lemieux (514) and Bobby Orr (608) …

When it comes to six-point outings in Oilers’ history, Wayne Gretzky dominates with 25, while the rest of the field totaled just 11 …

Overlooked by McDavid’s accomplishments, defenseman Evan Bouchard noteched a goal and two assists and also a career milestone …

Displaying his forechecking skills, McDavid created a turnover and fed Holloway, who dived to convert his third goal of the season 44 seconds into the third period. It sparked the Oilers’ third-period flurry …

The Red Wings lost their starting goaltender, Villie Husso, to injury about eight minutes into the first period. One of the NHL’s top netminders over the past two months, Alex Lyon entered and yielded seven goals on 29 shots …

McDavid’s primetime highlight Tuesday came on Evander Kane’s third-period goal, which evolved from a Spin-O-Rama move and extended the Oilers’ lead to 7-3 …

Displaying his skating skills, McDavid helped Nugent-Hopkins to close out the scoring with 2:11 to go …

Tuesday night proved to be an old-school win for the Oilers, who scored all eight goals at even-strength …

Final score: Oilers 8, Red Wings 4 …

The Red Wings may have suffered a humbling defeat Tuesday, but one of their top prospects, Nate Danielson, attempted to do his best imitation of McDavid …

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Detroit Red Wings Edmonton Oilers NHL News and Rumors X (Twitter)
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Jeff Hawkins

Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12 and 2023). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
View All Posts By Jeff Hawkins

Jeff Hawkins

Twitter Linkedin
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12 and 2023). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
View All Posts By Jeff Hawkins
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