When the Edmonton Oilers need a goal to get them out of trouble, captain Connor McDavid is always there and he's been showing it since the start of the season.
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Number 97 already has two hat tricks to his name in 2022-2023, including Thursday's. In a 6-5 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, he allowed his team to stay face to face with their rivals. Two power-play goals and another at even strength brought his total for the campaign to eight. His 15 points earn him the top spot in the National Hockey League, tied with teammate Leon Draisaitl and Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak.
Having started his career in 2015-16, the No. 97 boasts 12 hat-tricks on the Bettman circuit and is the second player in Oilers history to have at least two three- or more-goal performances in the first 10 games of a season. season. However, he had played the day before, but few elements can overcome him on the ice.
“There are nights when you have your whole arsenal in place. I felt good and I created things. But a lot of our guys got up, the power play and the shorthandedness got the job done when it was needed,” he told Sportsnet.
McDavid hopes that the recent successes, his own and those of the club, will continue. With three straight wins in the pocket, Edmonton got back on track, sitting third in the Pacific Division with five triumphs in eight outings.
"That's what we're hoping for. [...] Such a victory, with a lot of emotion, goals and errors, can bring the guys closer. We certainly should not waste advances at the end of the game each time, but we have material on which to build.
big shock
Exactly, the Oilers will once again experience their share of intense moments when they visit their arch-rivals, the Calgary Flames, on Saturday. Having eliminated them in the second round of the playoffs in 2022, they will want to avenge their failure of 4 to 3 conceded at home earlier this month. Both clubs accumulated 10 points in the standings, but Edmonton played two more games.
Afterwards, a streak of three games in a row at home awaits head coach Jay Woodcroft's men.
