Connor McDavid consistently finds ways to dazzle the NHL, but this scoring streak is on another level, even by his standard. What's contributed to this run?
Connor McDavid is easily playing some of the best hockey he's ever played in the NHL.
That's saying a lot when you look at what he's already accomplished and give credit to some of the unbelievable runs and seasons the Edmonton Oilers captain has strung together.
However, McDavid has been otherworldly in the last 20 games, getting points in each of them for a total of 19 goals and 46 points.
Everyone knows that McDavid is good. This feels different.
He now sits in seventh place on the Oilers' all-time longest point streak list. Only Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey have gone on longer runs, with Gretzky holding the top four spots.
The Great One topped out at 51 games in a row, but McDavid could bump Gretzky from the No. 6 spot with five more games that include a point. If he gets to 28, he's just outside the top three.
It's an incredible achievement, and it's worth examining the factors that are making it possible.
A Changed Mentality: McDavid Started Shooting
On Dec. 2, the Edmonton Oilers lost 1-0 to the Minnesota Wild.
During the game, McDavid passed up several opportunities to shoot, and when questioned about it by the media following the loss, he said he was passing up too many good looks.
"We definitely threw pucks there, had some looks, past some away, myself more than anybody," he told reporters at the time.
Clearly frustrated, he was never the same after that game.
The very next game, versus the Seattle Kraken, he scored three goals and an assist, with seven shots on net.
"I think he was disappointed with your guys' coverage of his offensive ability, or not shooting the puck," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said post-game. Maybe that stirred it up."
Fast forward just over a month, and McDavid has been producing offense nonstop.
After a recent win, McDavid was asked about his shot totals. A reporter pointed out that he'd taken 25 shots in the previous three games.
"We've had this conversation lots, us group," McDavid said. "You guys like to talk about me shooting the puck. I've said I want to shoot the puck, and I'm shooting the puck. There you go."
Top Line Chemistry
Another interesting thing happened that might be more than just a coincidence.
Zach Hyman returned from injury on Nov. 15. It's fair to ask why, then, did it take until Dec. 4 for McDavid to go on an incredible run. The answer might be that McDavid was always producing, but he upped his game immensely when his buddy came back.
Those two have undeniable chemistry. That changes things for a star player when he's got his wingman back.
Couple that with placing and keeping Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on that top line, and the Oilers created a deadly trio that they haven't split up for more than a few minutes here and there. That line has played 221 minutes together this season and been a force, according to moneypuck.com.
Hyman has 27 points in 28 games, including 16 goals. Nugent-Hopkins has rebounded from a down 2024-25 season and now has 37 points in 38 games.
McDavid clearly likes that grouping, and since they were all put together, he's gotten quite comfortable and really taken his game to another level. It's the main reason the Oilers don't want to move Nugent-Hopkins down to the third-line center role, where they have a clear need.
And the chemistry between McDavid and Hyman carries over to the power play, where the Oilers' 33.8-percent success rate is the highest in NHL history at the moment. And because of how difficult it is to stop McDavid, he draws the most penalties in the league, and the Oilers have had the fourth-most power-play opportunities since Dec. 4.
Easier Travel And Practice Schedule
Arguably no one had a harder schedule than the Oilers to start this season. Edmonton opened the season with punishing travel: long Eastern road swings, three five plus-game trips, constant time-zone changes and late-night finishes that tired everyone involved with the team.
It's not an excuse for some lousy play by the team in the early going, but their schedule was enough to wipe out even the top stars, especially elite players who play big minutes.
With the schedule finally getting easier for the Oilers, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that McDavid has had the right amount of rest and recovery in between games. Fewer road games with much less travel make a huge difference, especially when it comes to routines. That could easily explain why McDavid has more pep in his step.
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