Milestone Nights For Connor McDavid, Andrei Vasilevskiy
Thursday was a memorable night for two of hockey’s biggest superstars.
Following Tuesday’s four-point performance against New York, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid entered Thursday’s contest versus Nashville just one shy of reaching the 1,000-mark for his career – and he didn’t disappoint the home crowd at Rogers Place.
The 27-year-old phenom went scoreless in the opening frame, but he notched the milestone point on a game-tying marker in the second period, firing home a one-timer off a pass from teammate and close friend Leon Draisaitl.
With that goal, McDavid became the fourth fastest skater to record his 1,000th career NHL point, accomplishing the impressive feat in his 659th game. The only skaters to reach it in fewer games were Wayne Gretzky (424 games), Mario Lemieux (513) and Mike Bossy (656).
The Richmond Hill, ON native is also the fourth youngest player to register point No. 1,000, behind Steve Yzerman, Lemieux and Gretzky.
McDavid’s dad, Brian, watched from the stands as his son etched his name in the record books – something he’s already done many times and will surely continue to do throughout his career. But he was also treated to a thrilling overtime victory produced by No. 97, delivering an unbelievable backhand pass to Darnell Nurse, who buried the game-winner in the 3-2 win.
“Some of these things have kind of hit me a little more emotionally than I would have thought,” McDavid told reporters post-game, including Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. “You spend your whole life playing hockey and loving the game and just wanting to play and make the NHL. One thousand points later, playing for 10 years, it’s pretty special.”
“You take it for granted sometimes. These moments give you a good chance to look back and be grateful.”
Before the game stretched beyond regulation, McDavid had a chance to celebrate his special accomplishment with his teammates, who poured onto the ice – thanks to the NHL’s approval – to congratulate him on his 1,000th career point.
“Your teammates, the guys you go to battle with,” McDavid said. “The guys who have been here forever — through the good times and the bad times. You build a brotherhood and you build a bond and we certainly have that.”
It was also a night to remember for Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who, courtesy of a convincing 4-1 win over Winnipeg, secured the 300th victory of his NHL career. In doing so, he surpassed Hall-of-Fame netminder Jacques Plante as the fastest to reach that mark in league history.
Vasilevskiy earned his 300th win in his 490th career game, while Plante obtained that historical milestone in game No. 521.
The Russian-born netminder, a Vezina Trophy winner in 2019, has sat amongst hockey’s elite class since his breakout 2017-18 campaign, marking the first of five career All-Star appearances. He ranks first in wins (259) and goals-against average (2.55) in that span.
Only Connor Hellebuyck has registered a higher save percentage (.918) and more shutouts (34) than Vasilevskiy (.917 and 31) since the start of that season.
“Obviously the best goalkeeper in the world and [he] gives us a chance every single night,” Hedman said of his All-Star netminder, as NHL.com’s Benjamin Pierce wrote. “For him to get that close that fast is remarkable, so we’re super happy for him.”
Vasilevskiy, a Vezina Trophy finalist in 2018, ‘20 and ‘21, owns a 2.32 goals-against average and .913 save percentage with one shutout across 13 games this season, earning a 7-5-1 record.
The Lightning goaltender is currently the second-highest-paid netminder among active players league-wide, with his $9.5 million AAV trailing only Sergei Bobrovsky’s $10 million figure.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Connor Mah. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.