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Edmonton's dynamic duo certainly stunned in December.
Connor McDavid had five assists and Leon Draisaitl had three goals as the hometown Edmonton Oilers continued to roll into the holiday break with a 5-1 win over their rival Calgary Flames on Tuesday.
Zach Hyman had a goal and two assists, Evan Bouchard had a pair of helpers and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored for the Oilers (19-13-6), who have won four of their last five games and are 8-2-1 in their last 11 games.
Thanks to this segment, Edmonton tied the score on points at the top of the Pacific Division with the Anaheim Ducks.
“We want to be a playoff team,” said Draisaitl, whose Oilers have lost in the Stanley Cup finals the past two seasons.
“When you start the season the way we did, no one is happy, no one likes it. We knew we could be better and play a lot better here. Everyone just stepped up and started playing better. We're playing a little better now and obviously we want to continue like that.”
Edmonton's exciting pair continued to shine in December, finishing as the league's top scorers for the month.
McDavid, who was named the NHL's first Star of the Week on Monday for the second week in a row, extended his points streak to 11 games on Tuesday. He has 12 goals and 19 assists in the entire game and ranks first in the league's scoring charts with 67 points.
The Edmonton captain is second in NHL history in points per 10 games (18), behind only Wayne Gretzky (31).
“He clearly feels it,” Draisaitl said. “We've all seen this many times in his career. The puck is now following him. He's too good now. It's no fun playing against him.”
Draisaitl is third in Oilers history in goals.
The win over Calgary was McDavid's 45th game with four or more points, tying him with Jari Kurri for the second-most scoring game in Oilers history.
Draisaitl has points in 10 of his last 11 games with five goals and 19 assists. His three goals Tuesday moved him past Glenn Anderson (417) for third in Oilers history behind Gretzky and Kurri.
Draisaitl entered the game following an eight-game goalless drought, his longest regular season goalless stretch from February 19 to March 6, 2021. He completed the skid with his ninth career hat-trick.
McDavid and Draisaitl combined for 55 points in December.
“That’s a lot of points,” Hyman chuckled. “Obviously these are two of the best players in the world. When they play like that, they move our team and it makes it easier for the rest of us.”
Oilers head coach Chris Knoblauch said the pair deserve a lot of credit.
“You look at how the team is developing now, winning a lot more games, and it all starts with these two,” he said.
“They play very well, that's an understatement. Over the course of three or four weeks they have really played and scored and you see the points leaders over the last few weeks and those two are head and shoulders above everyone else.”
Edmonton is now 16-1-3 for its first goal of the season and is 4-0-0 in its new alternate jerseys, outscoring opponents by a 26-10 margin.
Ingram 'good' in game with 19 saves
“I love them. I love the look of them,” Draisaitl said of the sweaters. “Obviously our record and our statistics are pretty good right now. I hope we can continue like this.”
Connor Ingram returned to the starting lineup for the Oilers on Tuesday, his second straight NHL start since early February when he played for Utah. He made 19 stops and improved to 2-0-0 with the Oilers.
“He was solid,” McDavid said. “I also liked our performance in front of him, but he did the job that was asked of him. He was great there.”
Edmonton entered the game with the best power play (33.3%) and have scored on 42.4% of their chances in their last 10 games, scoring 14 goals on 33 chances. The Oilers were 3-for-6 with the man advantage against the Flames.
The provincial rivals will face each other again in a rematch after the holiday break, with the game moving to Calgary on Saturday.
After that, the Oilers will play 13 of their next 18 games at home, where they currently have a 10-3-3 record.
“This is a great opportunity. Great, great opportunity for our group,” McDavid said. “We spend most of January at home and no longer travel to the East. We have been through many difficult trips. We are only getting healthier. A little bit of a break and I like where our group can go.”
“This is an important month for us. Use this schedule at home and take the leap.”
