Connor McDavid scores 300th career NHL goal

The goal came in typical McDavid fashion early in the third period of Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings. McDavid jumped on a turnover by Kings defenseman Sean Durzi and sprung out of the defensive zone on a breakaway, wiring the puck past Joonas Korpisalo to give the Oilers a 2-0 lead. That would be the final goal of the game, as the Oilers would win 2-0.

With the goal, McDavid became the third-fastest active player to hit 300 goals, with only Alex Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos doing it more quickly than McDavid’s 563 games (although Auston Matthews is most likely to join that list in second soon with 296 goals in 474 games). McDavid’s teammate Leon Draisaitl, who hit the 300-goal milestone on Monday, sits fifth on that list at 630 games, with Sidney Crosby in fourth to round out the top five.

McDavid becomes the sixth player in Oilers franchise history to hit the 300 goal mark, joining elite company in Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson, Mark Messier and Draisaitl. He’s the 218th player in NHL history to hit the mark, and the 27th active player, with the most recent additions being his teammates in Draisaitl and Evander Kane.

McDavid has been a goal-scoring machine this season, as the goal gives him his 61st on the year, far surpassing his previous career-high of 44 and doing so in the fewest games among active NHLers. McDavid also has 83 assists for 144 points in 76 games, setting a record for most points in a season in the salary cap era.

The Oilers sit second in the Pacific Division with a 44-23-9 record, just a point behind the Vegas Golden Knights for first, although Vegas has two games in hand at the moment with their Thursday game against the Sharks still ongoing.