Yahoo Sports Connor McDavid Must Channel Sam Gagner To Break Millenium Milestone
Connor McDavid started this season with a chance to make history -- again.
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He came into this season with 982 points, just 18 away from 1000. Not only that, but he attained those 982 points in only 645 games, giving him an outside shot at passing Mike Bossy to become the third-fastest player to reach 1000 points. McDavid would need 18 points in his first ten games to reach the millennium mark by game 655 -- one game faster than Bossy.
Things haven't quite gone to plan for McDavid over the first nine games. He's sitting at 10 points, an impressive run for almost any player but a paltry sum by McDavid's lofty standards. He now sits at 992 career points through 654 games.
Given that tonight's game in Columbus will be the 655th of McDavid's career, it's all but ensured that he won't be able to pass Bossy. He'd need eight points in one game, something that's only been achieved once in the past 36 years. Hmm, I wonder who --
Oh, right. 8 points is a tall order for even McDavid, but it's been done before by a highly more unlikely Oiler. Sam Gagner shocked the hockey world with his incredible eight-point night on February 22nd, 2012, with four goals and four assists and a point on every goal in an 8-4 win over the mighty Chicago Blackhawks.
Not only was that the NHL's first eight-point game since Mario Lemieux did it on New Year's Eve, 1988, but it's one of only three seven-point games in the Salary Cap Era (since 2005-06). Only Nick Schmaltz has hit seven since.
Of course, eight points is a huge ask, and obviously McDavid has never done that in the NHL. But if you were to bet on anyone to do it, wouldn't it be McDavid? He has two of the 17 six-point games the league has seen since his rookie year, joining only Mika Zibanejad and Tage Thompson among players with two such games.
McDavid's first six-point night came on November 14th, 2019, when he potted a hat trick and three assists in a 6-2 win over Colorado. His most recent performance came this past February, when he picked up six assists in an 8-4 beatdown of Detroit.
Even if he can't find whatever magic Gagner did that night against Chicago, he'll still sit among NHL royalty. The next-fastest player to 1000 after Bossy is Peter Stastny, who achieved the feat in 682 games. Thus, it's all but a sure thing that McDavid will at the very least become the fourth-fastest player to reach 1000 points.
Still, it's fair to think of the milestone we'll (likely) miss out on. Were it not for awful puck luck from McDavid (2 goals below expected per MoneyPuck) and his linemate Zach Hyman (5 goals below expected), McDavid might have passed Bossy.
It's still in play for one more night, though. And hey, you never know.
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