Connor McDavid sets Oilers record not seen since Wayne Gretzky

Edmonton Oilers superstar captain Connor McDavid reached another historic plateau during last night's game against the lowly Arizona Coyotes at Rogers Place. 

The odds-on Hart Trophy favorite became the first Oilers player since Wayne Gretzky himself to reach the 60 goal mark, and the second NHL player to accomplish the feat since Steven Stamkos in 2012; Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews did so last season. His goal was of the overtime winning variety, sending the home crowd into a frenzy: 

He's now also the fastest player to reach the 60 goal mark since Mario Lemieux did so in 60 games back in the 1987-88 season; last night was McDavid's 72nd game of the year. 

With the tally, he's now 28 points up on his teammate Leon Draisaitl in the NHL scoring race, and a massive 40 points up on the third place player in Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov. 

“Leo makes a great play on the first pass, and I felt like I was kind of pressing for the the 60th all night and I was disappointed not to bury that one; you’re not going to get many better looks than that,” McDavid said afterward. “It’s not every day you get two breakaways back-to-back like that. He made two unbelievable plays, just ridiculous.”

The Oilers captain kept things in perspective, talking about the importance of the two points his team earned in the standings rather than continuing to go on about his accomplishment. 

“It was a big game for us, that was two opponents this week that don’t have much to lose and are playing really well,” McDavid said. “Arizona, at least, is playing really well. I thought we did a good job just kind of hanging in there and finding a way to get two points. That is what this time of year is all about and keeping ourselves in the thick of the race.”