Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid scored his 60th goal of the season on Wednesday when he potted his second of the night against the visiting Arizona Coyotes in overtime.
McDavid is the fourth player to reach the 60-goal mark since the salary cap was introduced in 2005-06, joining Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning (60, 2011-12), Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals (65, 2007-08) and Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs (60, 2021-22).
McDavid reached 60 in 72 games, the fastest clip since Mario Lemieux did it in 62 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995-96.
The Oilers captain is 12 goals ahead of second-place David Pastnak of the Boston Bruins this season, meaning he’s likely to win the Maurice Richard Trophy for the first time.
The league’s leading scorer now has 138 points, giving him a shot to join the exclusive 150-club with Wayne Gretzky, Lemieux, Bernie Nicholls, Steve Yzerman and Phil Esposito. Lemieux was the last player to reach that mark, notching 160 points in 1992-93.
With two more goals, McDavid can become the fifth Oilers to reach 300 for his career – joining Gretzky, Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson and Jari Kurri.
McDavid is the heavy favourite to win the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP for the third time this season.
