Connor McDavid continues to etch his name in the NHL record books, recently achieving a significant playoff milestone.
On Thursday, the captain of the Edmonton Oilers became the second player in National Hockey League history to record 100 assists in the playoffs at an exceptionally fast pace. He trails only the legendary Wayne Gretzky in this achievement.
McDavid reached the 100-assist mark in just his 90th career playoff game. In comparison, Gretzky accomplished the feat in a mere 70 games. The player ranking third fastest, Doug Gilmour, took considerably more time, needing 125 post-season appearances to hit 100 assists.
His 100th assist came on the Oilers` opening goal during Game 5 against the Dallas Stars. This setup led to a goal by veteran forward Corey Perry, making Perry just the second player aged 40 or above in NHL history to score in consecutive Conference Final games.
Across the league`s history, a total of 25 players have reached the impressive 100-assist plateau in the playoffs. This group includes notable active players such as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Nikita Kucherov.
Other prominent names among the fastest players to reach this milestone include Adam Oates, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, and Jari Kurri.
McDavid and Perry were not the only Oilers celebrating milestones that night. Jeff Skinner netted his first career playoff goal, ending an NHL-record streak of 373 regular-season goals without a post-season tally. Skinner`s goal was the third for Edmonton in that game.
Neville Woodall