McDavid’s hat trick night

Connor McDavid turned a 1-0 hole in San Jose into a 5-2 Edmonton win on April 8 by piling up three goals and two assists, and the result pushed the Oilers into sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division with 90 points. (nhl.com) This was not a late empty-net hat trick in a loose game. McDavid scored once on the power play in the first period, then twice in the second period while Edmonton turned a one-goal game into a three-goal lead. (espn.com) San Jose actually struck first when Macklin Celebrini scored on a power play after an Edmonton too-many-men penalty, so the Oilers were chasing the game less than four minutes in. McDavid answered by driving the offense on the next four Edmonton goals. (nhl.com) Two of those early swings came on the man advantage, with McDavid assisting on power-play goals by Vasily Podkolzin and Jack Roslovic before adding one of his own. That is how a star center can change a game without waiting for his own shot: he bends the penalty kill until somebody is open. (espn.com) By the end of the night, McDavid had his 15th career hat trick and 126 points in 77 games this season, with 43 goals and 83 assists. Those are the numbers of a player still running above 1.6 points per game in his 11th National Hockey League season. (nhl.com) The timing mattered almost as much as the stat line. Edmonton had lost the night before, then played the second half of a back-to-back on the road, and still left SAP Center with the division lead and three games left on the schedule. (nhl.com) That race is crowded enough that one huge night can reorder the whole table. After the win, Edmonton sat on 90 points, ahead of Vegas on 88 and Anaheim on 87 in the Pacific Division standings shown with the game recap. (espn.com) McDavid has had louder seasons on paper, including 153 points in 2022-23 and 132 in 2023-24, but this game looked like the version of Edmonton that scares everyone in April: one power play, one burst of speed, and the scoreboard flips before the other team can settle down. (nhl.com) That is why one regular-season game in early April can feel bigger than two points. San Jose is near the bottom of the standings, but Edmonton used the night to grab first place, sharpen its power play, and remind the league that the best player alive can still take over a game by himself for 20 minutes. (espn.com)