McDavid further cemented his legacy by reaching the 1,000-point mark in the Oilers' win in Edmonton

Connor McDavid has further cemented his legacy in the NHL history books.

The superstar scored a goal to record his 1,000th career point and set up Darnell Nurse's overtime winner as his Edmonton Oilers defeated the Nashville Predators 3-2 on Thursday.

The moment fans had been waiting for came when the teams played four players per team for 2:44 in the second period. Fittingly, it was Leon Draisaitl who gave McDavid a 2-on-1 break and he ripped a one-timer past Predators goalie Scott Wedgewood for his sixth goal of the season and the 1,000th point of his career. McDavid has scored nine points in his last three games.

“It's a special moment. I said it the other day, this is legendary,” said Draisaitl, who accounted for 446 of McDavid's now 1,001 career points. “To witness that and be a part of it and watch him grow up from when he was 18 and we met him for the first time, it's pretty cool, pretty amazing to be a part of.

“I'm very proud of him, very happy for him.”

McDavid played in his 659th game, becoming just the 99th player in NHL history to reach the magical 1,000-point plateau for his career. The Oilers captain became the fourth-fastest player ever to reach the milestone – behind only Wayne Gretzky (424), Mario Lemieux (513) and Mike Bossy (656). At the age of 27, he also became the fourth-youngest player ever to reach 1,000 points.

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“Just seeing the way the players responded meant a lot to me. It means the world to me,” said McDavid. “To hear the fans, that stuff means more to me than any numbers. It was truly a special moment.

“These milestones are a good time to reflect and look back. It's been ten good years and hopefully ten more good ones.

“Some of these things have affected me a little more emotionally than I thought.”

To put the 1,000-point milestone into perspective, McDavid did that in 98 fewer games than Sidney Crosby. The last player to reach 1,000 points was Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares, who did so on December 11, 2023 in his 1,109th game. It only took McDavid 58 games to go from 900 points to 1,000.

Naturally, the question arose: can he possibly reach the 2,000-point mark in his career?

'If not him, then who? That's the only question I have,” Draisaitl said. “I never bet against Connor McDavid. I've learned that over the past ten years. It wouldn't surprise me.”

Nurse had two goals and an assist and 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 .

It's pretty cool to be there and be a part of something that Connor has worked so hard for,” Nurse said. “As teammates it's awesome, it's awesome what he does every night and it's cool when he passes these milestones that he gets to celebrate for.”

Calvin Pickard made 21 saves between the pipes for the Oilers.

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

“I think that one point is huge,” said Smith, who scored with 2:38 left in the third, eventually sending the game to overtime. “I think we have to try to get two points here now.

“'Wedgey' kept us in it all night, and that was huge for us. Fighting back and getting at least one (point) is big.”

Wedgewood made 31 stops in net for the Predators.

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