By the Numbers: McDavid chasing history in pursuit of 1,000 points

Connor McDavid made history in Edmonton’s 5-2 win over Philadelphia on Tuesday, becoming the fifth-fastest player in NHL history to reach 900 points after scoring a goal and four assists in his 602nd game.

The only players ahead of McDavid on that exclusive list are Wayne Gretzky, who reached 900 points in 385 games, followed by Mario Lemieux (463), Mike Bossy (582) and Peter Stastny (599). 

"For him, it is just another number; he is just happy that we won, knowing him," said Oilers forward Zach Hyman. "He's a generational talent to be able to do that. It's pretty special in the era he plays in to be in categories with the guys he is.

"I don't think anybody is even close in recent memory. It is pretty unbelievable, and it is pretty special having the opportunity to play with him."

With that milestone accomplished, McDavid now has the opportunity to aim for 1,000 career points. If McDavid records 97 points in his next 79 games, he can surpass Stastny to be the fourth-fastest of all time to reach 1,000 after Stastny did it in 682 games. 

McDavid is averaging 1.5 points per game over his career and is averaging 1.61 points this season, the third-highest mark of his career. 

At his current rate, McDavid is unlikely to surpass the third-fastest player on the list in Bossy. It took Bossy 656 games to reach 1,000 points, meaning McDavid would need 97 points in 53 games for an average of 1.80 points per game to surpass the New York Islanders legend. 

But that pace is not impossible for McDavid, who averaged 1.87 points last season when he registered 153 points in 64 games. 

McDavid is currently riding a six-game point streak and has 12 points in that span with three goals and nine assists. 

Gretzky remains the fastest player in NHL history to 1,000 points (424 games), followed by Lemieux, who achieved the feat in 513 games. 

"It looked pretty easy for him. It was nice, he was flying and making unbelievable plays and he did all that tonight, and I couldn’t believe he only had [16:35] of ice time," Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch told NHL.com. "It was quite remarkable what he was doing, but it never surprises me. I’m over that phase of him surprising me because he’s done it so much. You just like to enjoy it."

With his 53 points this season, McDavid is now 122nd in NHL all-time points and needs 90 points to surpass free agent Phil Kessel, who is currently 100th on the NHL’s all-time scoring list.