Connor McDavid needs three goals to reach 400 for his career. Three. The Edmonton Oilers captain — the player who has redefined what offensive dominance looks like in modern hockey — sits at 397 career goals after potting the power-play game-winner in Tuesday's 4-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. And he's ripping through the 2025-26 season at a clip that should terrify every goaltender left on the schedule.
McDavid leads the entire NHL with 110 points (36 goals, 74 assists) through 65 games. He's riding an eight-game point streak (15 points: 2 goals, 13 assists) and a ridiculous 19-game road point streak (35 points: 12 goals, 23 assists). Fresh off an Olympic performance at Milano Cortina that shattered records, the 29-year-old is locked in. And with roughly 17 games remaining in the regular season, the question isn't whether he hits 400 — it's where and when.
Edmonton Oilers vs. Dallas Stars: Thursday's Projected Lineups and Injury Report
The milestone chase continues Thursday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas (8 p.m. ET, HULU/ESPN+/SNO/SN1), where the Oilers (32-25-8, 72 points) visit a Dallas Stars squad (40-14-10, 90 points) riding a 13-game point streak with a 12-0-1 record. But Dallas is dealing with significant roster damage that could tilt the ice in Edmonton's favor.
Edmonton Oilers Projected Lineup
Forwards:
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — Connor McDavid — Zach Hyman
Vasily Podkolzin — Leon Draisaitl — Jack Roslovic
Matt Savoie — Jason Dickinson — Kasperi Kapanen
Adam Henrique — Josh Samanski — Trent Frederic
Defensemen:
Mattias Ekholm — Evan Bouchard
Jake Walman — Connor Murphy
Darnell Nurse — Spencer Stastney
Goaltenders: Tristan Jarry (starter), Connor Ingram (backup)
Injured: Colton Dach (undisclosed), Ty Emberson (undisclosed), Mattias Janmark (shoulder), Curtis Lazar (undisclosed)
Dallas Stars Projected Lineup
Forwards:
Jason Robertson — Wyatt Johnston — Mavrik Bourque
Sam Steel — Matt Duchene — Jamie Benn
Michael Bunting — Justin Hryckowian — Adam Erne
Oskar Back — Arttu Hyry — Colin Blackwell
Defensemen:
Esa Lindell — Miro Heiskanen
Thomas Harley — Nils Lundkvist
Tyler Myers — Lian Bichsel
Goaltenders: Jake Oettinger (starter), Casey DeSmith (backup)
Injured: Tyler Seguin (ACL — season-ending), Roope Hintz (lower body), Mikko Rantanen (lower body), Radek Faksa (lower body)
Scratched: Nathan Bastian, Kyle Capobianco, Ilya Lyubushkin, Alexander Petrovic
That injury list matters. Dallas is missing Seguin for the entire season after ACL surgery, Rantanen is sidelined since being acquired, and Hintz remains week-to-week. Against an Oilers team desperate for playoff points, those absences create real opportunities — particularly for McDavid's line to exploit matchups against Dallas's depleted forward depth.
What 400 Goals Means in Oilers History
When McDavid scores his 400th, he becomes just the fifth player in Edmonton Oilers history to reach the mark. The company he's joining? Absurd:
PlayerGoals with EDMSeasons
Wayne Gretzky | 583 | 9
Jari Kurri | 474 | 10
Leon Draisaitl | 433 | 11
Glenn Anderson | 417 | 11
Connor McDavid | 397* | 11
That's four Hall of Famers (or future Hall of Famers, in Draisaitl's case) and the greatest hockey player who ever lived. McDavid slotting in as the fifth member of this club isn't just a milestone — it speaks to the generational talent Edmonton has been building around since drafting him first overall in 2015.
McDavid's 2025-26 Season: The Numbers Behind the Chase
What separates this season from previous years is McDavid's shooting. He's always been a playmaker first — a guy who'd rather thread a pass through three defenders than take the shot himself. But coach Kris Knoblauch and his teammates have pushed him to be more selfish with the puck, and the results speak for themselves.
Stat2025-26 (65 GP)2024-25 (76 GP)
Goals | 36 | 32
Assists | 74 | 100
Points | 110 | 132
Shots on Goal | 240 | 263
Shooting % | 15.0% | 12.2%
That shooting percentage jump from 12.2% to 15.0% is significant. McDavid's putting 240 shots on net through 65 games — projecting to finish above 300 for just the second time in his career behind his 352-shot, 64-goal campaign in 2022-23 when he won the Rocket Richard Trophy.
Knoblauch put it bluntly when discussing McDavid's approach: the more he's shooting, the more dangerous he becomes. And linemate Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who's been playing alongside McDavid since 2015, pointed out that when McDavid drives the puck to the net rather than looking for the extra pass, he's at his most lethal. His speed catches goaltenders before they're set, and that split-second advantage is often the difference.
Fresh Off Olympic Dominance at Milano Cortina
McDavid arrived back in Edmonton carrying some serious hardware. At the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics — the first Games featuring NHL players since 2014 — he put up 13 points (2 goals, 11 assists) in six games for Team Canada, setting the all-time record for most points in a single Olympic hockey tournament by an NHL player.
The accolades piled up fast: tournament MVP, Best Forward, and the first NHL player to record three-plus points in three consecutive Olympic games. Canada fell 2-1 in overtime to the United States in the gold medal game, which stung, but McDavid's individual brilliance was undeniable.
Since returning from the Olympic break, McDavid has scored two goals in two games. He hasn't missed a beat. If anything, the international stage sharpened his competitive edge heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
The Bigger Picture: 1,200 Career Points on the Horizon
While the 400-goal chase gets the headlines, McDavid is simultaneously closing in on another massive number. He sits at 1,192 career points — just eight away from 1,200. When he gets there, he becomes the third-fastest player in NHL history to reach that plateau:
PlayerGames to 1,200 Points
Wayne Gretzky | 504
Mario Lemieux | 593
Connor McDavid | ~776 (projected)
McDavid reached 1,000 career points in 659 games, making him the fourth-fastest in history. He's now tracking to be third all-time to 1,200. Mike Bossy might have challenged for that spot, but his career was cut short by injury. The only names ahead of McDavid on these lists are Gretzky and Lemieux — and that's about the highest company you can keep in this sport.
Where McDavid Ranks Among Active NHL Scorers
Since entering the league in 2015-16, McDavid ranks fifth in total goals among all NHL players. But here's the part that separates him from the pack: he leads everyone in assists (795) and total points (1,192) over that same span. And keep in mind, he missed 10 games as a rookie after breaking his collarbone — meaning his per-game numbers are even more absurd when you adjust for the games lost.
Among active players, 14 have more career goals than McDavid's 397. But none of them can match his overall offensive production. Alex Ovechkin sits in a stratosphere of his own for goal-scoring, but McDavid's combination of goals and assists at this rate is something we haven't seen since Gretzky and Lemieux were in their primes.
The Supporting Cast Making It Possible
McDavid doesn't operate in a vacuum. His top-line wingers have been critical to this season's production.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has posted 50 points (17 goals, 33 assists) in 56 games on the top line. He's been McDavid's most consistent linemate for over a decade now, and their chemistry borders on telepathic.
Zach Hyman continues to be one of the best free-agent signings in recent NHL history. He has 27 goals in just 46 games this season, following up his career-best 54-goal campaign in 2023-24. As Hyman himself noted, the numbers confirm McDavid is shooting more this year — and when he does, everyone on that line benefits. Hyman pointed out that elite players typically rack up more assists because they have the puck on their stick so often, but McDavid's conscious effort to shoot has elevated the entire line's production.
Edmonton's Playoff Push: Why Every Point Matters
This isn't just about personal milestones. The Oilers are in a dogfight for playoff positioning in the Western Conference. Edmonton holds 72 points with a 32-25-8 record, sitting five points above the LA Kings and San Jose Sharks, who are tied for the second wild-card spot.
The remaining schedule is brutal. Ten of their final 17 games come against teams currently in playoff position, including two more matchups with Colorado and a date with Atlantic Division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning. Thursday's game in Dallas — against a team with the best record in the Western Conference despite their injury issues — sets the tone for this closing stretch.
A hat trick against the Stars would give McDavid exactly 400. Stranger things have happened in this sport, and when he's locked in like this, you'd be foolish to bet against it.
The Contract Angle Nobody's Talking About
Here's what makes all of this even more remarkable: McDavid is producing at this level on a $12.5 million cap hit. He signed a two-year extension last summer that keeps him in Edmonton through 2027-28 at the same average annual value as his previous deal. He isn't even the highest-paid player on his own roster.
For a player who could have commanded $15-16 million AAV on the open market — easily — McDavid chose team flexibility over maximum earnings. That decision was driven by one thing: winning. He wants a Stanley Cup in Edmonton, and he's willing to leave money on the table to give the front office room to build a contender around him.
From My Perspective: What People Are Sleeping On
Everyone talks about McDavid's offense. Understandable — 110 points in 65 games demands attention. But what's genuinely impressive about this version of Connor McDavid is the two-way maturity he's developed. He's carrying a +13 rating this season while winning defensive zone faceoffs at career-best rates and applying consistent backpressure that forces turnovers in the neutral zone.
This isn't the young McDavid who could be exploited in his own end. This is a 29-year-old who has spent 11 NHL seasons studying the game, refining his positioning, and understanding that sustained offensive dominance requires defensive responsibility. The combination of elite scoring and genuine two-way play at this level represents the most complete forward performance we've seen in the modern NHL.
What's Next: Schedule, Timeline, and Milestone Watch
The immediate focus is Thursday's showdown in Dallas, followed by Saturday's home game against the Minnesota Wild and then a critical four-game California road trip. At his current pace of 0.55 goals per game, McDavid projects to reach 400 goals within his next five or six games — potentially as early as next week.
But the 400-goal milestone is just one piece of the puzzle. Eight points from 1,200 career points. A playoff race that demands consistency. An Oilers team that needs its captain firing on all cylinders down the stretch.
Connor McDavid has spent 11 years proving he's the best player on the planet. The next few weeks are about cementing something bigger — a legacy that puts him alongside the greatest names this franchise, and this sport, has ever produced.
