Edmonton Oilers centre Connor McDavid continued his historic start to the 2026-27 NHL season on Thursday, notching five points to inspire his side to a thrilling shootout win against the Carolina Hurricanes. The captain finished with two goals and three assists, reaching 31 points through his first 10 games and matching a milestone previously achieved by Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy and Mario Lemieux.

McDavid became the fourth player in NHL history to record at least 30 points in the opening 10 games of a season. Gretzky and Bossy accomplished the feat during the 1984-85 campaign, while Lemieux reached the mark three times, in 1988-89, 1992-93 and 1995-96. McDavid is the first player to achieve it since Lemieux's last qualifying season, 31 years ago.

The 29-year-old's latest performance also placed him alongside Lemieux as the only players to produce three five-point games within their first 10 appearances of a season. McDavid's eight goals and 23 assists give him an average of 3.1 points per game, putting him on course for approximately 260 points across an 84-game schedule. That projected total would surpass Gretzky's NHL record of 215 points, set with Edmonton in 1985-86.

Thursday's game saw McDavid reach the 30-point milestone early in the third period with an assist on Leon Draisaitl's power-play goal. He subsequently scored his second goal of the night with 1:28 remaining in regulation, tying the contest at 5-5 and forcing overtime.

Draisaitl matched McDavid's output with two goals and three assists, bringing his season tally to 21 points, including 10 goals. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins contributed a goal and an assist in his season debut before scoring the game-winning shootout goal.

The victory improved Edmonton's record to 8-1-1. The Oilers have scored 46 goals through 10 games, with McDavid involved in 31 of them as either the scorer or an assister. He had also been on the ice for 37 of the Edmonton's goals, accounting for approximately 80% of the team's total.

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McDavid had already established another NHL milestone earlier in the week, becoming the fastest player in league history to record 20 assists by reaching the mark in his ninth game. Gretzky, Lemieux and Pat LaFontaine previously shared the record after accomplishing it in 10 games.

The Oilers will next host Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.