Connor McDavid, by the numbers, and the historical significance of his 2024 playoff run
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid is having one of the most productive postseasons in NHL history. A look at his numbers and their historical significance:
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Points, one postseason
McDavid is right there with the absolute greatest who have ever played, and a record that has stood for nearly 40 years is within his reach.
McDavid has 42 points so far in these playoffs. The only players with more: Wayne Gretzky with 47 in 1985, Mario Lemieux with 44 in 1991 and Gretzky again with 43 in 1988.
Assists, one postseason
Nobody has more in NHL history. McDavid has set up 34 goals so far in these playoffs, breaking the record of 31 assists that Gretzky set in 1988. Gretzky also had 30 assists in 1985.
Back-to-back
McDavid had four points (1-3-4) in Game 4 against Florida, then did it again (2-2-4) in Game 5. He became the first player in Stanley Cup Final history with consecutive four-point games.
Ever.
The only player with three points in three consecutive games in the same title series is Oilers great (and now assistant coach) Paul Coffey, who did it in 1985. Montreal’s Newsy Lalonde is the only other player with such a streak, sort of: He had three points in three consecutive final games spanning the 1918 and 1919 seasons.
Most points, 2-game span
Not only is McDavid the first with back-to-back four-point games in the Stanley Cup Final, he’s also the first with eight points in a two-game span of the same series.
There are seven players — Lemieux in 1991, Gretzky in 1988, Coffey in 1985, Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay in 1955, Syl Apps in 1942 and Lalonde in 1919 — who had seven points in a two-game stretch of the final.
They’re all looking up at McDavid on that list now.
4 in 4
McDavid is the first player to have four different four-point games in a single Stanley Cup playoff season since the Oilers’ glory days of the 1980s.
Gretzky had six four-point games in the 1985 playoffs, while Coffey and Jari Kurri had four apiece that same year. Mark Messier had four such games in the 1988 playoffs.
Nobody had done it before, or since, until McDavid this year. And all five of those players did it in an Oilers sweater.
Most since Lemieux
McDavid has a career-best 174 points in 99 games so far this season, the most by anyone in a single NHL season since Lemieux had 188 points in 1995-96.
McDavid had 173 points last season in 94 games. This will be the fourth consecutive season that he leads the NHL in points, factoring in both regular season and postseason contests.
Nobody has had that long a streak since — you guessed it — Gretzky, who was atop the total-season scoring list in nine consecutive seasons spanning 1979-80 (when he was tied with Marcel Dionne) through 1987-88.
The 174 points is tied for 14th most in a season; Mike Bossy had that many in 1981-82. The only players with more than 174 points are — again, you guessed it — Gretzky (who did it 10 times, with a career-best 255 points in 1984-85) and Lemieux (who did it three times, with a career-best 218 points in 1988-89).
His impact
It’s pretty simple: If McDavid gets a point, the Oilers are probably going to win.
He’s gotten at least one goal or assist in 82 games this season; the Oilers have won 59 of those games — a 72% rate.
He’s been held without a point in 17 games this season; the Oilers have won three of those games — an 18% rate.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
