4 Edmonton Oilers bold predictions for January

3) Connor McDavid will be top-2 in scoring

At the beginning of last month, we predicted Connor McDavid would finish December in the top three for overall points scored. At the time he was tied-ninth in the scoring charts, with 29 points.

We ended up being a little off with our prediction, albeit not by too much. As of Tuesday morning, McDavid is tied-fifth with 48 points, just two behind third place.

The six-time All-Star is undoubtedly over his poor -- at least by his superhuman standards -- start to this season. Some will note he actually had 20 points in November compared to 19 in December, but this was achieved in two more games.

Regardless, it all points towards McDavid now being back close to the form which eventually won him four individual awards last season. As such, we feel confident in making the prediction he will be in the top-two for scoring by the end of January.

Of course we appreciate there will be those who argue this isn't a particularly bold prediction, given everything noted above. However, it's not as if this will be straightforward for the 2015 first overall draft pick.

For some context, while McDavid is only two points behind third place, he's 10 behind Nathan MacKinnon in second place. Interestingly, this is in part due to MacKinnon leading the NHL in assists, four ahead of his counterpart in Edmonton as things stand.

In addition, consider that the Avalanche have 12 games during the month of January, compared to 11 for the Oilers. At the same time we still have confidence in McDavid's ability to catch MacKinnon in the scoring charts.

In this respect, we are talking about a player who just last season scored the fourth-most points by an individual player in NHL history. And with McDavid now rounding into last season's form, do you really want to bet against his ability to overtake MacKinnon by month's end?