EDMONTON — When they’re going like this, two searing hot superstars on a power play that scores nearly as often as it doesn’t, The Connor and Leon Show is as the circus people used to say: The Greatest Show on Earth.
It’s a jet stream that has graced this town before. One that pulls a roster of 20 behind the play of two, a level of on-ice leadership that takes everyone to a place they’d not reach in a different uniform, in some other NHL city.
The twin engines used to be Gretzky and Kurri, or sometimes Messier, Anderson or Coffey.
But as 2026 approaches, it’s Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl who have combined for 55 points in the month of December, with three games left before the calendar turns. There aren’t quite as many options as those old Oilers teams had with their seven Hall of Famers, but oh boy, when these two guys are playing the way they are of late?
It’s hard to believe this was a team we fretted over, as they stumbled through October and the first half of November.
“We demand to be a playoff team,” said Draisaitl, when asked what has changed. “When you start the season the way we did, nobody is happy. Nobody likes it. Everyone just stepped up and started playing better. Now we’re rolling a little better and obviously looking to continue that.”
McDavid had five assists Tuesday — yes, he assisted on every goal — two primary, three secondary.
Draisaitl scored three times, his 18th, 19th and 20th of the season — all on the power play.
If you want to get into a power-play war with the Oilers — whose unit is operating at 40.5 per cent this month — your losses will mount. If McDavid finds himself skating faster at your blue line than he was at his — if you haven’t slowed him even a click or two — you’re dead in the frozen water.
“It’s always tough to defend them,” said Calgary’s Jonathan Huberdeau, who went pointless with one shot on goal, a pale, pale shadow of the $10 million guys wearing blue and orange. “They’re great players — they’re the top in the world — but we still have to find a way. It’s possible — some games we’ve played against them, we’ve been able to shut them down a little bit.”
This is considered victory, shutting McDrai down “a little bit.”
If not for Dustin Wolf’s exceptional play in the Calgary net Tuesday, it would have been much, much worse.
But wait. There’s more.
The Oilers have played 22 of their 38 games on the road, and have been out East on three trips already. For the first time in franchise history, they have completed their Eastern time zone travel prior to Christmas. So the schedule gets easier in the second half.
“It’s a great, great opportunity for our group here,” relished McDavid. “We’re home for most of January, we don’t go east again. We’ve gotten a lot of tough trips out of the way. We’re only getting healthier. A little bit of break, and I like where our group can go.”
They’ve played 38 games in 77 days — almost exactly a game every second day. The Oilers should, like every other team on this punitive, compressed Olympic season, be weary, dragging their collective carcass into a much-needed Christmas break.
But somehow, McDavid has had more jump and energy this month than we’ve seen in ages. He is at peak McJesus — the fastest and most productive player in the game by some margin despite a schedule that’s felling players across the landscape.
“I like the schedule. The schedule suits me,” said a defiant McDavid, the first player to have 67 points at the Christmas break since Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr back in 1995-96. “I like getting into a groove and sticking with it, getting into a good routine. The games feel comfortable that way.
“I like the schedule, honestly. As I said, it suits me.”
Gulp…
He has 12-19-31 in 12 December games, and has launched six points clear of Nathan MacKinnon in the scoring race. He is truly, playing at a level that is as dominant as we’ve ever seen him play at.
“It tilts the ice,” Draisaitl observed. “He’s obviously feeling it. The puck is following him right now. He’s just too good right now. That’s not fun to play against.”
He has had six three-plus-point games, in the month of December, and his 13th career four-assist game ties him with Bobby Orr for seventh on the all-time list. Meanwhile, McDavid’s 45th four-point game ties him with Kurri for the second most in Oilers history, behind Gretzky (158).
As Draisaitl’s 419 career goals push him ahead of Anderson into third place on Edmonton’s all-time goal scoring list, we are reminded of the rare air these two breathe.
On a night like this one, it’s air the opponent can only choke on.
