EDMONTON — When they operate like this, with two hot superstars on the power play and scoring almost as often as they don't, “The Connor and Leon Show” is, as the circus people said, “The Greatest Show on Earth.”
This is the jet stream that used to grace this city. One that pulls a 20-man roster behind a two-man game, a level of on-ice leadership that takes everyone to a place they wouldn't reach in another uniform, in some other NHL city.
The twin engines used to be Gretzky and Kurri, and sometimes Messier, Anderson or Coffey.
But as 2026 approaches Connor McDavid And Leon Draisaitl who united for 55 points in December.and there are three games left before the calendar turns. There aren't as many options as the old Oilers teams with their seven Hall of Famers, but boy, when do these two guys play like they have lately?
It's hard to believe we were worried about this team as they struggled through October and the first half of November.
“We demand that we be a playoff team,” Draisaitl said when asked what has changed. “When you start the season the way we did, nobody's happy. Nobody likes it. Everybody just stepped up and started playing better. We're playing a little better now and obviously we hope to continue that.”
On Tuesday, McDavid had five assists—yes, he had an assist on every goal—two primary and three secondary.
Draisaitl scored three goals – his 18th, 19th and 20th of the season – all on the power play.
If you want to get into a power play war with the Oilers, whose unit is operating at 40.5% this month, your losses will mount. If McDavid finds himself driving faster on your blue line than on his own—if you haven't slowed him down a click or two—you're dead in the frozen water.
“They're always hard to defend,” said Calgary's Jonathan Huberdeau, who went blank with one shot on goal, a pale, pale shadow of the $10-million guys wearing blue and orange. “They're great players, they're the best in the world, but we still have to find a way. It's possible – in some of the games we've played against them we've managed to tone them down a little bit.”
This counts as a victory, shutting down McDray “a little.”
If not for Dustin Wolf's exceptional performance against Calgary on Tuesday, things would have been much, much worse.
But wait. And that's not all.
The Oilers have played 22 of 38 games on the road and have already made three trips to the East. For the first time in franchise history, they completed a trip to the Eastern Time Zone before Christmas. So in the second half the schedule will become easier.
“This is a great opportunity for our group here,” McDavid relished. “We've been at home for most of January and don't travel east anymore. We've been through a lot of tough trips. We're just getting better. A little bit of a break and I like where our group can go.”
They played 38 games in 77 days – almost exactly a game every other day. The Oilers, like every other team in this punitive, condensed Olympic season, must be exhausted as they drag their collective frame into a much-needed Christmas break.
But somehow this month, McDavid had more jumps and energy than we've ever seen. He's at peak McJesus – by some margin the fastest and most prolific player in the game, despite a schedule that drops players all over the landscape.
“I like the schedule. I'm happy with the schedule,” said a defiant McDavid, the first player to score 67 points during the Christmas break since Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr in 1995-96. “I like to get into a rhythm and stick to it, get into a good routine. I feel comfortable in these games.
“I like the schedule, honestly. Like I said, it suits me.”
He has 12-19-31 in games through Dec. 12 and leads Nathan MacKinnon by six points in the scoring race. He's truly playing at as dominant a level as we've ever seen.
“It rocks the ice,” Draisaitl noted. “Obviously he feels it. The puck is following him now. He's too good right now. It's not fun playing against him.”
He has six games with three+ points. in the month of December, and his 13th career four-assist game ties him with Bobby Orr for seventh on the all-time list. Meanwhile, McDavid's 45th four-point game is tied with Kurri for second most in Oilers history behind Gretzky (158).
As Draisaitl's 419 career goals move him ahead of Anderson into third place on Edmonton's all-time scoring list, we take a look back at the rare air these two breathe.
On such a night, the enemy can only choke on air.
