'95 Away From 100' — McDavid Picks Up Five Assists in Oilers' Game 1 Win Against Kings

The Edmonton Oilers celebrate Zach Hyman’s second goal of the game during the second period on Monday’s Game 1 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

Few things were more dangerous in the NHL than Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman on the ice at the same time during the regular season. That didn’t change during the Edmonton Oilers’ first game of the 2024 NHL playoffs.

In front of an electric crowd at Rogers Place, the Oilers drew first blood in their series opener against the Los Angeles Kings, winning 7-4. It was their first Game 1 victory since 2017, and it showed how hard it is to slow down Edmonton’s top unit when it gets going.

In a year when McDavid became just the fourth NHL player ever to record 100 assists in a season, he followed that up by becoming just the fourth Oiler to record five assists in a playoff game. He was also the first in the NHL to hit five assists since Geoff Courtnall of the St. Louis Blues in 1998.

McDavid assisted on all three of Hyman’s goals, as well as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ and Leon Draisaitl’s goals. The output led Hyman post-game to suggest McDavid might be on his way to triple-digit assists again.

“Ninety-five away from 100,” Hyman said to laughter among the assembled media. “He’s a special player. When he’s playing like that, he controls the game, so he doesn’t need to score each game. He’s setting everyone up – he set me up three times, and he’s been doing it all year. That’s what he does.”

McDavid reciprocated the praise by emphasizing Hyman’s ability to get in the right position.

“Zach’s smart – he’s a smart hockey player,” McDavid said. “He knows where to go. He gets himself to the front of the net. He gets himself lost. That’s a skill that maybe the fans don’t see, but it’s a skill nonetheless, and he’s real good at it.”

After a 54-goal campaign, it was fitting that Hyman would open the playoff scoring for Edmonton. His three goals on Kings netminder Cam Talbot was Hyman’s first post-season hat trick.

The response was one of the most boisterous this season. More than 1,000 hats hit the ice, enough to give the staff at Rogers Place a bit of work to do as they filled up 14 bags worth of hats. The volume inside the building also surpassed 100 decibels of sound, making it a herculean effort to hear the public address call announcing what Hyman had accomplished.

While Hyman said he knows how important it is for himself to get his offense going in the playoffs, he knows it’s more important that the roster as a whole is also able to contribute offensively.

“You want to feel good going into the playoffs,” Hyman said. “Obviously, you want to feel good, but I think it’s just at this time of year, everyone is just so focused on winning that it doesn’t matter who scores. Obviously, that’s a big part of my game this year, so it’s important that I’m able to produce, but I think regardless of who scores, we’re all pulling on the same rope.”

Zach Hyman skates by as hats rain down on the ice following his first career playoff hat trick. Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

One of the biggest factors in Edmonton’s victory was also not letting Los Angles excel in the 1-3-1 defensive system to slow the game down, something the Kings struggled to get going as the Oilers controlled the pace.

“It’s good – they like to set that trap up so that when we can play quickly, we can avoid getting into that neutral zone game,” Hyman said.

Game 2 is set for Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET at Rogers Place. If the strong connection between No. 97 and No. 18 continues, this could be the Kings’ only trip to Edmonton this spring.

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