Connor McDavid kept a straight face while making a curious revelation to a group of reporters after surpassing 400 career goals.
“Goal scoring is something that has not come easy to me,” the Edmonton Oilers star said on Tuesday after scoring twice in their 5-2 win over the Utah Mammoth, giving him 401.
“It’s something that I work at, something that I focus on,” McDavid said. “I set a goal at the beginning of the year: trying to shoot more pucks.”
Photo: Rob Gray / Imagn Images
Jack Roslovic, who also had two goals in the win, could not believe McDavid’s claim that he is not a natural at scoring.
Asked if he agreed, Roslovic looked incredulous and scoffed: “No comment.”
Roslovic said that his team, who moved into second place in the Pacific Division, follows the longest tenured captain in Oilers history even if he does not say a lot.
Photo: AP
“It’s just the hustle. Everyone watches him, knows what he’s doing, and it’s inspiring, humbling, motivating,” the center said.
McDavid became the fifth player in Oilers history to reach 400 goals when he took a feed from Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard, and beat Karel Vejmelka with 7 minutes, 53 seconds remaining in the second period.
The go-ahead goal was his 40th of the season and put Edmonton in front 3-2. He scored his 401st goal on an empty-netter with 7.5 seconds remaining.
Photo: Winslow Townson / Imagn Images
McDavid is a three-time winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s Most Valuable Player — one of only two unanimous winners, along with Wayne Gretzky — and is known for his extraordinary quickness, recently hitting a top on-ice speed of 39.6kph in a game.
“Of course, there’s his speed, but I don’t think he gets enough credit for his shot,” Oilers coach Kris Knobaluch said. “He is dangerous when he gets off the circles and he’s got a great release and is so difficult to check. He’s so determined to get to the net.”
Elsewhere on Tuesday, it was:
Photo: Jeff Curry / Imagn Images
‧ Bruins 2, Maple Leafs 4
‧ Blues 3, Capitals 0
‧ Canadiens 5, Hurricanes 2
‧ Canucks 3, Ducks 5
‧ Flames 3, Kings 2 (SO)
‧ Flyers 2, Blue Jackets 3
‧ Islanders 3, Blackhawks 4
‧ Jets 4, Golden Knights 1
‧ Lightning 6, Wild 3
‧ Panthers 5, Kraken 4 (SO)
‧ Penguins 2, Avalanche 6
‧ Predators 6, Sharks 3
‧ Red Wings 2, Senators 3
‧ Stars 4, Devils 6
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