4 Oilers bold predictions for December

2) Connor McDavid will be in top 3 for points

It has undoubtedly been a challenging season so far for Connor McDavid. As the Oilers floundered out of the gate, so did their captain.

In fairness, McDavid did have eight points in the Oilers’ first five games, but it didn’t help that the team started the 2023-24 campaign with a 1-3-1 record. Then came the upper body injury which caused him to miss two games, during which the Oilers went 0-2.

However, after the five-time Art Ross Trophy winner returned for the Heritage Classic, something didn’t seem quite right. He just didn’t look like his usual self.

This led to speculation that McDavid, in his efforts to help the team, had returned too quickly from his injury. He equalled his career-worst streak of eight games without a goal, and overall had ‘only’ 16 points in 16 games.

Then came the game in Washington, D.C., where Oilers fans finally got to see the real McDavid. He notched four assists in a 5-0 win versus the Capitals, for his first game of the 2023-24 season with more than two points.

The 2015 first overall draft pick then followed this up with another four assists, and a goal to boot, in the 8-2 blowout of the Ducks. This resulted in him moving into third place in Oilers history with 39 three-plus assist games, with the two-game points spurt seeing him shoot up 100 places in the NHL scoring charts.

McDavid was subsequently named NHL First Star for the week ending Nov. 26, but he wasn’t finished yet. He added another three points in the important 5-4 shootout win against the Golden Knights, with a goal and two assists, while also notching the first Oilers goal in the shootout.

Thanks to this scoring blitz, the six-time All-Star now finds himself tied ninth in the scoring charts with 29 points, five behind third place and 10 behind top spot. He’s in a zone now, so expect him to be in the top three by the end of December.