Oilers invade Sharks
Conor McDavid rises to elite NHL club
April 16, 2024, 10:09 a.m
Conor McDavid is having another outstanding season in the NHL. The Canadian star striker achieved a rare mark in his Edmonton Oilers’ furious 9-2 win over the San Jose Sharks. In the future he will be mentioned in the same breath as the three legends.
Ice hockey star Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers put a big exclamation point in the NHL shortly before the end of the regular season. The Canadians rolled over the San Jose Sharks led by Draisaitl’s DEB colleague Nico Sturm 9-2, with the Cologne native preparing two goals. The Oilers are in fifth place in the Western Conference and have already booked their ticket to the playoffs.
Connor McDavid reaches a historic milestone. With his assist to make it 9-1 by Zach Hyman, the 27-year-old recorded his 100th goal assist of the season and entered an elite circle. Before McDavid, only three players in NHL history had achieved 100 assists in a season: Bobby Orr and Mario Lemieux once each, and the legendary Wayne Gretzky eleven times, eight of them in a row in an Oilers jersey.
Moritz Seider and the Detroit Red Wings can continue to dream of reaching the knockout rounds for the first time in eight years. Detroit won 5-4 after overtime against the Montreal Canadiens, with the team from Michigan turning around a three-goal deficit.
In the fight for the playoffs, Detroit (89 points) will face the Canadiens again on Wednesday night. Seider and Co. have to win and hope for a defeat by the Washington Capitals (89) at the Philadelphia Flyers in order to secure the second wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. If Detroit loses, the Flyers could also reach the knockout rounds with a win. The Pittsburgh Penguins can also still have slight hopes for the postseason.
JJ Peterka and the Buffalo Sabers won 4:2 at the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Ottawa Senators without Tim Stützle lost 0:4 at the New York Rangers, who secured the Presidents Trophy as the team with the highest points in the main round. The Sabers and Senators can no longer make the playoffs.