Most players would be thrilled to hit 400 career goals and 1,200 points in the same game. But to Connor McDavid, it’s just another Tuesday.
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“These milestones are just a nice time to reflect and, you know, I’m just very grateful to have played with so many great players,” he said in the visiting locker room of the Delta Center helping his Edmonton Oilers to a 5-2 victory over the Utah Mammoth.
McDavid’s second goal of the game, an empty-netter in the final seconds, put him at 401. He’s only 11 years into his NHL career, but he’s just one goal shy of Hall of Famer Paul Kariya and two others for 112th on the all-time list.
But it’s not easy to score goals in the NHL — even for Connor McDavid.
“Goal scoring is not something that comes easy to me or naturally to me,” he said. “So, (it’s) something that I work at, something that I focus on. ... (I’m) fortunate to have scored a couple goals in this league.”
Jack Roslovic, who also had two goals on the evening, rolled his eyes at that notion.
“No comment,” he said with a smile.
Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Mammoth head coach André Tourigny also joined the party on the milestone front. Nugent-Hopkins reached his 800th assist while Tourigny coached his 400th game.
🚨400🚨
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 25, 2026
A MILESTONE FOR MCDAVID! 🫡 pic.twitter.com/VeGDI3Xbkt
The game
Things started out strong for the Utah Mammoth as they took on one of the two teams they have yet to beat as a franchise.
An Alexander Kerfoot shot pinballed its way into the Edmonton Oilers’ net to give the Mammoth an early lead, but it took a little more than three minutes for Roslovic to answer.
That trend continued throughout the game. Each time the Mammoth got a little bit of momentum, the Oilers squashed it.
“We did a lot of good stuff defensively, but I think we didn’t have our aggression of usual and our pace,” Tourigny said. “Too much time and space.”
He explained that when you trail on the scoreboard, you try to save your energy to score. But that only results in less possession time and ultimately, more goals against.
“We did not have the right aggression without the puck, so we had to defend way too much, and that took our offense away.”
The Mammoth are still looking for their first win as a franchise against the Oilers. They and the New Jersey Devils are the only teams they have yet to beat. But the players don’t think about those types of things.
“How many games have we played, like six? We were winless against LA, won last game. They’re a good team. They’ve been in the Cup Finals twice in a row,” Kerfoot said. “It’s hard to beat good teams in this league. They’ve got some elite players. We’d like to do a better job against them, and it’s no excuse.”
They’ll get another shot at the Oilers on April 7, when they return to Salt Lake City. But for now, their focus needs to be on their next opponent, the Washington Capitals, who are in town on Thursday.
Connor McDavid’s thoughts on Utah
There’s a somewhat realistic chance that the Mammoth and Oilers could meet in the playoffs this year, whether that’s in the first round or the second.
McDavid recently called the Pacific Division race a “pillow fight,” suggesting that neither his team nor the others atop the standings are doing enough to deserve their spots.
Here’s what he said of the Mammoth, who are looking to secure a wild card position that would put them on the Pacific playoff path:
“They’ve got a ton of talent. They’re loaded with talent. They’re super, super good with the puck, and really, really dangerous. I thought we did a good job checking tonight and keeping it all kind of on the outside, but they’ve got some great shooters that can score from out there.
Regardless of how much the Oilers sometimes struggle in the regular season, that’s not a squad any team wants to meet in the playoffs, if they can help it. As Kerfoot mentioned, they lost in the Stanley Cup Final in each of the last two years, and McDavid and his running mate, Leon Draisaitl, only get better in the postseason.
But for the Mammoth to get the Pacific route, they’ll have to pull out a few more wins. The Nashville Predators’ five-game winning streak suddenly has them three points behind.