PITTSBURGH (AP) — Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl became the fourth-fastest active player in NHL history to reach 1,000 career points in the first period of a 6-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Draisaitl had the secondary assist on a power-play goal by Zach Hyman at 11:38 of the first period. He sent a pass to Connor McDavid, who slid it in front to Hyman for a one-timer past Stuart Skinner.
“It was a lot of hard work and a lot of people
that helped along the way,” Draisaitl said. “These accomplishments are always directed at the player, but there are so many people that play a big part in that.”
Skinner was Draisaitl’s teammate before Edmonton traded him to Pittsburgh for Tristan Jarry on Friday.
“Whenever anyone gets a thousand points, you’re going to congratulate them, but I would’ve rather it not be on me,” Skinner said. “It’s a little bittersweet. I was his teammate for a long time and obviously he’s a great player and makes things happen every single night. Congratulations to him.”
After Hyman’s goal, the Oilers’ bench emptied and congratulated Draisaitl on the milestone in the corner.
Draisaitl scored his 1,001st point 14 seconds later on a goal by McDavid. He finished the game with four assists and now has 416 goals and 587 assists in 824 games. Draisaitl and McDavid assisted on a goal for the 136th time in their career, passing Paul Coffey and Wayne Gretzky for fourth-most by a pair of teammates in NHL history.
“He’s a special player,” McDavid said. “I can’t say enough good things. He does it every year on both sides of the rink. It’s not surprising for him to reach this accomplishment and reach it so quickly with so many great years ahead of him.”
Draisaitl, the No. 3 pick in 2014, became the 103rd player in NHL history, first German-born player and fifth in franchise history to reach 1,000 points.
Draisaitl, a four-time 50-goal scorer, who helped Edmonton reach the Stanley Cup Final the previous two seasons, is the fifth-fastest to reach the milestone among players born outside North America.
“Growing up in Germany, it seems like it was a long ways,” Draisaitl said. “It was surely just a dream. Just super grateful, super thankful and of course a little proud.”
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