McDavid nearing 400-goal milestone with Oilers

Connor McDavid will always be known by his teammates as a pass-first superstar who can take matters into his own hands when required. 

Despite his generosity, the Edmonton Oilers captain is still one of the elite goal-scorers in the NHL. 

McDavid is three goals from 400 in his career and can close in on the milestone when the Oilers face the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+, SNO, SN1).

"Just the way he can draw attention to himself leaves a lot of guys open and he's able to make those plays," said Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has been teammates with McDavid since the latter was chosen No. 1 in the 2015 NHL Draft. "I think when he's scoring at his highest pace, it's not always just using his shot, it's driving the puck to the net and being able to beat guys there."

McDavid leads the League with 110 points (36 goals, 74 assists) in 65 games. He is on an eight-game point streak (15 points; two goals, 13 assists) and 19-game road point streak (35 points; 12 goals, 23 assists) going into Dallas. 

McDavid would become the fifth player in Oilers history to reach 400 goals, behind Wayne Gretzky (583), Jari Kurri (474), Leon Draisaitl (433) and Glenn Anderson (417).

"He has that attack mindset; when he's taking the puck to the net, that's when he's scoring goals," Nugent-Hopkins said. "Just with how fast he's moving, he catches goalies before they expect the puck coming."

McDavid said he wanted to shoot the puck more than he had in past going into the season. He has 240 shots on goal compared to 196 all of last season, when he had 100 points (26 goals, 74 assists) in 67 games.

Still, at times, shooting appears to be a last resort for McDavid when he has the puck in the offensive zone.

This despite having a 15.0 shooting percentage.

"I think it is a conscious thing for him, he is thinking pass a lot of the time and I think it's because he's attracting so many guys to him and he knows that somebody is going to be left open," Nugent-Hopkins said. "A lot of times when he does shoot it, we're getting the puck back, too, and we're creating a lot off his attack mode."

In 2022-23, McDavid won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the League's top goal-scorer with 64 (89 assists, 153 points) in 82 games. He had 352 shots on goal that season, the most in his career, and had an 18.2 shooting percentage, also his best. McDavid also won his fifth Art Ross Trophy for leading the NHL in points.

The following season, McDavid had 263 shots in 76 games and had a career-high 100 assists (32 goals, 132 points). 

"For sure, he's got the mindset to get the puck to the net," Oilers forward Zach Hyman said. "The numbers don't lie; he's shooting the puck more this year. He scored 64 goals the one year and he shot the puck a lot that year."

McDavid drives Edmonton's offense, and his linemates have benefited from playing with him. 

Nugent-Hopkins has 50 points (17 goals, 33 assists) in 56 games playing alongside McDavid on the top line for the majority of this season. 

Hyman has been on McDavid's right wing since signing with the Oilers as an unrestricted free agent prior to the 2021-22 season and is averaging over 34 goals per season in Edmonton.

Hyman scored a personal-best 54 goals (23 assists, 77 points) in 80 games in 2023-24 and is on a similar pace this season with 27 goals (17 assists, 44 points) in 46 games. Before signing with Edmonton, his highest goal total was 21 in six seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"You trust Connor to make the right read, whether it's pass or shoot," Hyman said. "He can get 60-plus goals, he can get 100-plus assists. In hindsight, you don't question what he does and how he does it. He always makes the right read."

McDavid scored the winning goal in a 4-3 victory at the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, taking a pass from Draisaitl on the power play and lifting a shot over the shoulder of goalie Mackenzie Blackwood.

It was his second goal since returning from the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, where he set a record at a men's hockey tournament featuring NHL players with 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in six games for Team Canada, which lost 2-1 in overtime to Team USA in the gold medal game.

"Primarily, all the elite players have more assists than goals, because they have the puck on their stick the most," Hyman said. "They're the ones carrying the puck up the ice, making plays with speed, and deciding whether to pass it or shoot it. It's not that he's not a goal-scorer, he's a goal-scorer. Same with Leon; they both have the puck so much that they'll both make the right play more times than not."

Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said he has encouraged McDavid to have an "attack mentality" and take the puck to the net as often as possible.

"The more he's shooting, the more dangerous he is," Knoblauch said. "But there's also passes. You look at all Hyman's goals -- I bet you 80 percent of them, Connor could have shot in that situation."

Fourteen active players have more career goals than McDavid, who ranks fifth in the category since he entered the NHL. He leads all players in assists (795) and points (1,192) in that span.

There are instances where it appears shooting would be a better option for McDavid than looking for the extra pass. Yet, Knoblauch said he will defer to one of the best offensive players in the history of the League to make those decisions. 

"You have to be careful at having him shoot everything," Knoblauch said. "He's at his best when he's in that attack mentality and he's shooting the puck. Hyman for an example, scores a lot of goals when Connor passes up shots. I think he does a pretty good job balancing, but I think he is at his best when he is shooting."