Nurse scores OT winner for Oilers as McDavid reaches 1,000-point mark for career

EDMONTON — Darnell Nurse had two goals and an assist, Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist to reach the 1,000-point mark in his career and the Edmonton Oilers won their third game in a row with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Nashville Predators on Thursday.

McDavid made a backhand pass to Nurse who ripped his second of the game, and the season, past Predators goalie Scott Wedgewood 2:33 into overtime.

Leon Draisaitl had a pair of assists for the Oilers (9-7-1), who have now earned at least a point in 16 of their last 17 games against Nashville, going 14-1-2 in that span.

Michael McCarron and Cole Smith responded for the Predators (5-9-2) who have lost five of their last six.

Calvin Pickard made 21 saves between the pipes for the Oilers, while Wedgewood made 31 stops in net for the Predators.

TAKEAWAYS

Predators: Veteran defenceman Roman Josi picked up his 11th assist and sits second in team scoring with 12 points. He is just two points shy of 700 in his NHL career.

Oilers: Both Draisaitl and McDavid have positively feasted on the Predators for some years. Draisaitl has posted an astounding 25 goals and 43 points in his last 17 games against the Predators, while McDavid extended his points streak against Nashville to 15 games, registering 10 goals and 36 points over that span.

KEY MOMENT

The moment the fans had been waiting for came when the teams were playing four players per side 2:44 into the second period. Fittingly it was Draisaitl who fed McDavid on a 2-on-1 break and he ripped a one-timer past Wedgewood for his sixth goal of the season and the 1,000th point of his career. McDavid has notched nine points in his last three games.

KEY STAT

Playing in his 659th game, McDavid became just the 99th player in NHL history to hit the magical 1,000 points plateau for his career. The Oilers captain became the fourth-fastest player ever to reach the milestone – trailing only Wayne Gretzky (424), Mario Lemieux (513) and Mike Bossy (656). At 27, he also became the fourth-youngest player ever to reach 1,000 points. To put the milestone in perspective, McDavid did it in 98 fewer games than Sidney Crosby. The last player to reach 1,000 points was Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares, doing so on Dec. 11, 2023, in his 1,109th game. It only took McDavid 58 games to go from 900 points to 1,000.

UP NEXT

Predators: Finish off a three-game road trip in Calgary against the Flames on Friday.

Oilers: Start a three-game Eastern Canada swing in Toronto versus the Maple Leafs on Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.

Shane Jones, The Canadian Press