NEW YORK (AP) — Connor McDavid scored a goal and extended his NHL record season-opening assists streak to 15 games, powering the Edmonton Oilers past the New York Rangers 4-1 on Sunday.
On his first shift, McDavid added to his highlight reel and showed why he is considered the best hockey player in the world. He banked the puck off the boards to himself, shifted into another gear, blew past defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and beat Dylan Garand.
The goal
50 seconds in broke a tie with two Hall of Famers: the 418th of his career passed Glenn Anderson for the fourth most in franchise history, and his eighth in the first minute of a game put him past Mark Messier for the most with the Oilers. McDavid is the fastest player in league history to 30 assists, leads all scorers with 39 points and is on pace to join Wayne Gretzky as the only players to reach 200 in a season.
Evan Bouchard had a goal and two assists to join Bobby Orr, Al MacInnis and Denis Potvin as the only defensemen with 25-plus points in his first 15 games. Journeyman goaltender Matt Tomkins, making his first start for Edmonton and seventh in the NHL, backstopped the team to its third consecutive victory by making some important saves among his 28.
Colton Dach had two goals, including an empty-netter with 39.4 seconds left to seal it. The Oilers are 7-0 on the road.
Garand, allowed three goals on 24 shots in his ninth consecutive appearance since Igor Shesterkin went down with a right knee injury. Pavel Dorofeyev scored for the Rangers, who have lost four in a row and six of their past seven after a strong start.
Oilers: At New Jersey on Tuesday night.
Rangers: Host St. Louis on Tuesday night.
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