The league’s biggest stars take center stage as the Minnesota Wild travel north of the border to face the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
Both teams enter the contest with six wins apiece and their superstars at the top of their game.
Oilers center Connor McDavid sits atop the NHL with 23 points (six goals, 17 assists), while Wild sniper Kirill Kaprizov has buried a league-most 10 goals.
“I think it should be fun,” Kaprizov said when asked about the upcoming clash. “He’s (McDavid) really good. I saw his last game against Utah. He’s flying on the ice and he’s a really good player.”
McDavid delivered another dominant performance Saturday, recording two goals and three assists in Edmonton’s 6-2 road victory over the Utah Mammoth.
“It’s crazy. He’s flying,” McDavid’s teammate Zach Hyman said of the league’s best. “It looks like he’s hit another gear this year, finishing like crazy. So, it’s a good sign for our team.”
Thanks to his three-assist performance, McDavid tied Mario Lemieux (1995-96) and Wayne Gretzky (1986-87) for the most assists through a player’s first eight games of a season in NHL history.
“He takes pride in doing things right,” Oilers coach Mike Babcock said of his star player. “Well, it’s impossible to coach a team when your best player isn’t driving, and this guy’s driving. But he has a bunch of support, so we got a lot of workers, which is positive, and I think you’re going to see our team really grow here as we get people back and get deeper, but obviously he’s a special player. We’re lucky we’ve got some special players.”
McDavid’s running mate Leon Draisaitl extended his goal-scoring streak to three games with a goal and an assist, and Vasily Podkolzin picked up two assists as the Oilers got their revenge after the Mammoth handed them their first regulation loss of the season on Thursday.
Not to be outshone by Edmonton’s best, Kaprizov continued his impressive start Sunday, scoring the winning goal in Minnesota’s 2-1 home victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
With his 10th goal in nine games, the Russian winger became the fastest skater in Wild history to reach double-digits in goals in a season, surpassing Brian Rolston (12 games in 2006-07).
Kaprizov’s power-play marker also extended his point streak to six games (seven goals, five assists) as the Wild earned their fourth win over their past five outings.
Jesper Wallstedt needed just 13 saves to earn the victory, while Danila Yurov scored Minnesota’s other goal.
Wild coach John Hynes praised Yurov when speaking to the media following the contest.
“He’s going to be a top-two line center the way that he thinks the game, sees the game. Now, we’re starting to see his skating, his confidence, his offensive instincts, on top of his hockey smarts and acumen without the puck, which is excellent.”
Minnesota is 2-2-1 on the road despite its strong overall start, while Edmonton is 1-1-1 at Rogers Place after opening the season with five consecutive road victories.