McDavid's Return: Oilers Await Captain's 100th Assist Against Sharks

Edmonton Oilers fans can finally exhale as their captain, Connor McDavid, is set to return to action against the San Jose Sharks. McDavid's absence from the lineup was felt over the past three games due to a nagging lower-body injury sustained during the game against the Calgary Flames on April 6.

In the three games missed the Edmonton Oilers went 1-1-1. Beating the Golden Knight 5-1 then losing 3-2 in overtime to the Arizona Coyotes and finally losing 3-1 on Saturday to the Vancouver Canucks. In the games against the Coyotes and the Canucks you could tell this team was missing the McDavid factor.

Despite missing these recent games, McDavid's impact on the ice this season has been quite an impressive feat. Currently sitting in the third spot in the league for total points, he has an impressive tally of 130 points. To add to that, he leads the entire NHL with 99 assists to his name. This puts him on the brink of a historic milestone; if he manages to notch just one more assist against the Sharks, he will become the first player since Wayne Gretzky in the 1990-91 season to reach the coveted 100-assist mark, in that season Gretzky topped the league with an incredible 122 assists.

However, McDavid isn't the only player knocking on the door of this milestone. Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning isn't far behind, with 98 assists. As the Lightning prepare to take on the Buffalo Sabres Monday night, Kucherov also has the opportunity to join the exclusive 100-assist club.

Having Connor McDavid back tonight will help tip the scales for the Oilers to get back in the win column tonight. The Oilers were big favourites tonight against the league-worst team, but the addition of McDavid back into the lineup should almost guarantee an Oilers victory tonight. Since I am a betting man, I am going to bet some money that McDavid gets the monumental 100th assist tonight. The only question is will he get there before Kucherov or not?