Connor McDavid has owned the New Jersey Devils since the moment he entered the NHL. The Oilers captain has registered at least one point in all 17 career games against New Jersey, compiling 31 points with seven goals and 24 assists while recording 12 multipoint performances, per Hockey Reference. Tonight at Rogers Place, he has the opportunity to tie his longest streak against any single opponent, matching the 18-game run he’s maintained against the San Jose Sharks.
The statistics almost seem invented. In a league where the best players occasionally get shut down by good defensive teams, McDavid has never failed to produce against the Devils. Not once in 17 games over nearly a decade. He’s scored hat tricks against them. He’s recorded four-point games. As ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski has noted, McDavid’s consistency against New Jersey stands out even among all-time greats because it spans multiple coaching staffs and defensive schemes, none of which have found an answer.
McDavid enters tonight’s matchup riding a 22-game point streak overall, the longest of his career and one of the most impressive runs in recent NHL history. During this stretch, he’s accumulated 39 points on 17 goals and 22 assists, playing at a pace that only the greatest players in league history have matched. At 29, he remains the most dominant offensive force in hockey, and he shows no signs of declining.
The Numbers Behind the Dominance
The Devils represent McDavid’s most consistent victim, but the broader context of his current form makes tonight’s game particularly significant. According to NHL.com records, he leads the league in assists with 55 and shares the points lead with Nathan MacKinnon at 85. He’s also first in the league in both 22-plus mph speed bursts (95) and 20-plus mph bursts (431), per NHL Edge tracking data, proving that his skating ability remains unmatched despite entering his 11th NHL season.
His high-danger shot attempts tell an even more compelling story. Per Natural Stat Trick, McDavid leads all skaters with 80 high-danger shots on goal this season, meaning he’s not just accumulating points through secondary assists and power-play production. The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn has highlighted this as the defining trait of McDavid’s current streak: he’s generating the most dangerous scoring opportunities in hockey while also finding teammates in premium positions, a dual-threat capacity that separates him from every other playmaker in the league.
The historical comparisons are reaching rarefied territory. Wayne Gretzky holds most of the NHL’s scoring records, but as Elliotte Friedman has observed, McDavid’s sustained production in the salary-cap era makes direct comparisons to pre-cap legends increasingly relevant. His point-per-game average over the past five seasons, per Hockey Reference, exceeds what most Hall of Famers achieved at any point in their careers. He’s doing this in an era with better goaltending, more sophisticated defensive systems, and more competitive balance than the high-scoring 1980s.
McDavid needs one goal to tie Mark Messier for fifth place in Oilers franchise history with 391. That milestone underscores how long McDavid has been excellent and how much production he’s provided Edmonton since being drafted first overall in 2015. Passing Messier, one of the most celebrated players in hockey history, would be another reminder that McDavid’s career is already among the greatest ever.
The Oilers’ Resurgence
Edmonton’s season has transformed since early December. They were struggling near .500 when McDavid’s current streak began on December 4th. Since then, the Oilers have gone 25-17-8 and climbed into solid playoff positioning in the Western Conference. The correlation between McDavid’s production and team success has never been more apparent.
The supporting cast around McDavid has finally started contributing consistently. Leon Draisaitl remains one of the league’s elite players, and the chemistry between him and McDavid continues to devastate opposing defenses. Zach Hyman has emerged as a legitimate top-line winger who finishes the chances McDavid creates. The depth scoring that plagued Edmonton in previous seasons has improved enough that opponents can no longer simply focus all their defensive attention on the top line.
The coaching staff has adjusted their systems to maximize McDavid’s impact without leaving the team vulnerable defensively. McDavid’s average ice time has climbed to over 22 minutes per game during the streak, and he’s been deployed more frequently against opposing top lines. The result is a more balanced team that doesn’t rely solely on outscoring its problems but can actually defend when necessary.
Goaltending has stabilized as well. Stuart Skinner has recaptured the form that made him a viable starting goaltender, posting respectable numbers over the past month. The Oilers no longer need McDavid to score four points every night just to stay competitive. When he does produce at that level, as he has throughout this streak, the wins pile up rapidly.
What the Devils Must Do
New Jersey’s task tonight seems impossible based on historical results, but they have no choice but to try. Their defensive system emphasizes taking away time and space in the neutral zone, forcing turnovers before opponents can establish offensive zone possession. Against most teams, this works well. Against McDavid, it simply delays the inevitable.
The Devils’ best chance involves keeping McDavid’s ice time manageable by controlling possession themselves. If they can maintain long offensive shifts, they reduce the number of opportunities McDavid gets to create. This requires their top forwards to win puck battles and cycle effectively, wearing down Edmonton’s defense while preventing McDavid from doing what he does best.
Physically engaging McDavid presents risk and reward in equal measure. He’s impossible to hit cleanly because his skating creates separation instantly, but any contact that disrupts his timing can temporarily slow his production. The Devils need to find the balance between aggressive checking and undisciplined play that gives Edmonton power-play opportunities.
The Devils’ goaltending will need to be exceptional. Jacob Markstrom has been solid this season, but solid doesn’t cut it against McDavid. Every save matters because McDavid capitalizes on rebounds and scrambles better than any player in hockey. Markstrom must be sharp on initial shots and control rebounds effectively to give his team any chance.
Pierre LeBrun has pointed out that teams facing McDavid during long point streaks often find more success by focusing on winning the game rather than fixating on shutting him down individually. If the Devils can hold him to a single assist while generating enough offense themselves, they can steal a win even if the streak continues.
Historical Context
Point streaks against single opponents reveal interesting patterns about the league’s best players. McDavid’s 17-game streak against New Jersey puts him in exclusive company, matching dominance usually reserved for players facing expansion teams in eras with less competitive balance. That he’s doing this against a legitimate franchise with solid goaltending makes it even more impressive.
His 18-game streak against San Jose, which he can tie tonight, represents the longest such run in his career. The Sharks have been terrible for several years, which provides some context, but McDavid has destroyed them so thoroughly that their struggles can’t fully explain his production. He’s simply capable of scoring against anyone, anytime, regardless of circumstances.
The broader streak McDavid is riding places him among the greatest single-season performances ever. According to NHL.com records, his current run of consecutive games with a point ranks among the top 50 streaks in NHL history, placing him in the company of Gretzky, Lemieux, and a handful of others who sustained that level of production for so long.
Then and Now
The great point streaks in NHL history share a common thread: they required the player to produce not just when everything was clicking, but on nights when nothing else was working. Gretzky’s 51-game streak in 1983-84 included games where the Oilers were outplayed but Gretzky still found the scoresheet. Lemieux’s 46-game run in 1989-90 survived through lineup changes, injuries to teammates, and a Penguins team that was still years from contending. What separated those streaks from impressive but shorter runs was the player’s refusal to let circumstances dictate their output.
McDavid’s current run fits that mold. It has survived road back-to-backs, games where Edmonton trailed by multiple goals, and matchups against the league’s best defensive teams. His 17-game dominance of the Devils adds a different dimension, one that even Gretzky and Lemieux rarely sustained against a single franchise over such a long span. Per Hockey Reference, Gretzky’s longest point streak against any single opponent was 23 games against the Los Angeles Kings, a mark that seemed untouchable until McDavid began approaching it.
The distinction that matters most, though, is era. Gretzky and Lemieux built their streaks when league-wide save percentages hovered around .880. McDavid is producing at a comparable rate against goaltenders posting .910 or better and defensive systems designed specifically to neutralize players of his caliber. Tonight, when he faces a Devils team that has never solved him, he is not just chasing a personal milestone. He is building the case that the greatest scoring feats of the 1980s were not artifacts of a bygone era but benchmarks that the right player, in the right form, can still approach.
Sources
- Connor McDavid Career Stats vs. New Jersey Devils - Hockey Reference
- NHL Scoring Leaders 2025-26 - NHL.com
- NHL EDGE Skater Skating Speed Leaders 2025-26 - NHL Edge
- McDavid Point Streak Coverage - ESPN NHL
