Some nights in hockey feel much bigger than the rest. Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles was one of those nights. The Edmonton Oilers didn’t just win a game. They made a thunderous statement, and their captain wrote his name deeper into the history books while doing so.
This was a bounce-back performance built on speed, skill, and a burning desire to respond after a rough recent stretch. If you follow the NHL at any level at all, this game simply cannot be ignored. History was made on the ice in California last night.
Let’s dig in.
A night for the history books
Connor McDavid became the first player to reach 100 points in the 2025-26 NHL season, doing so in only 60 games played this year. That number alone is remarkable. What makes it truly historic is that it was also his ninth career 100-point season, placing him in the rarest company.
Only two players in the entire NHL history have done it more often. Wayne Gretzky reached the century mark 15 times, and Mario Lemieux did it 10 times. McDavid now sits third all-time alone in that elite conversation, and he is just 29 years old with prime hockey ahead.
How the milestone moment went down
The milestone moment came at 4:58 of the second period in very pure McDavid fashion. He pulled goalie Darcy Kuemper completely out of position at the left post, then circled behind the net before coming out to the right circle and roofing the puck into the wide-open net beautifully.
That goal pushed Edmonton ahead 4-1 and ended Kuemper’s difficult night in goal. McDavid finished with a goal and an assist, giving him exactly 100 points on the season with 35 goals and 65 assists across 60 games. His sixth consecutive 100-point campaign is now officially locked in for good.
Draisaitl hits his own milestone, too
Leon Draisaitl was not about to let his captain have all the glory on this particular night. The German superstar finished with a goal and three assists, reaching the 30-goal mark for the eighth straight season. That level of sustained scoring excellence is something very few NHL players ever achieve.
Draisaitl assisted on the very goal that pushed McDavid to 100, making it a shared milestone moment between two of the best players on the planet. Their partnership on the ice remains one of the most dominant offensive forces that the modern NHL has ever had the pleasure of witnessing.
Fun fact: Hockey is truly in Draisaitl’s blood. His father, Peter Draisaitl, was a professional hockey player in Germany for 18 years and represented West Germany and Germany at three Winter Olympics in 1988, 1992, and 1998.
Seven goal scorers and total domination
Seven different Oilers found the back of the net, and the result was never seriously in doubt after the first period ended. Ty Emberson and Vasily Podkolzin gave Edmonton a 2-0 lead. Andrew Mangiapane then scored on a dangerous 2-on-1 rush to push the advantage even further in the second.
Jake Walman added two goals in the third period to cap the comfortable rout for Edmonton. Zach Hyman finished with a goal and two assists, while Mangiapane added a goal and an assist as well. Connor Ingram was composed all night in goal, turning aside 21 of 22 shots faced.
A badly needed bounce-back win
This victory meant far more than just one milestone. The Oilers had dropped four straight games heading into this matchup, including a painful 6-5 collapse against the Anaheim Ducks the very night before. Coach Kris Knoblauch urgently needed a response, and his players delivered a truly dominant one in California.
Edmonton improved to 29-23-8 with the victory and moved back into second place in the Pacific Division standings. The Oilers now trail the Vegas Golden Knights by just four points for first place in the division. This dominant and convincing performance was exactly what the Oilers desperately needed right now.
The Kings are in serious playoff trouble
For Los Angeles, this night could not have gone worse at all. The Kings have now dropped five straight games, sitting at 0-4-1 in that rough stretch. Darcy Kuemper was pulled after allowing four goals on just 15 shots, and the entire Kings defense was badly exposed throughout the game.
Making matters worse, defenseman Drew Doughty left with a lower-body injury and never returned to the ice afterward. The Kings sit three points outside a playoff spot in the Western Conference right now. The window for Los Angeles to turn things around is narrowing rapidly with every passing loss.
Where McDavid stands among NHL legends
With nine 100-point seasons, McDavid now sits ahead of Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne, who finished his legendary career with eight. He is one behind Mario Lemieux and six behind Wayne Gretzky. At just 29 years old, the possibility of catching Lemieux within a season or two seems very real.
McDavid entered the 2026 Olympic break leading the NHL scoring race with 96 points (34 goals, 62 assists) in 58 games. He came back needing only two more games to cross the 100-point mark. His career high of 153 points from 2022-23 remains the fourth highest among unique players.
Fun fact: During the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, McDavid scored 105 points in only 56 games.
What this means for Edmonton’s playoff push
The Oilers are still a work in progress, but performances like this one prove their ceiling remains sky high. The Western Conference is very competitive, and Edmonton still has important ground to cover. However, when this team is truly locked in, very few squads in the NHL can keep pace.
With McDavid finding top gear at the most important stretch of the year, Edmonton has the offensive firepower to compete with anyone. The Stanley Cup chase begins in just weeks, and this dominant 8-1 statement win should make every Western Conference playoff contender take very serious notice of the Oilers.
TL;DR
- Connor McDavid hit 100 points for the ninth time in his career during an 8-1 Oilers blowout win over the Kings on February 26, 2026.
- He became the first player to reach 100 points in the 2025-26 NHL season, doing so in just 60 games.
- McDavid ranks third all-time in 100-point seasons behind Wayne Gretzky (15) and Mario Lemieux (10).
- Leon Draisaitl scored his 30th goal for the eighth straight season in the same game.
This article was made with AI assistance and human editing.
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