NHL: Connor McDavid finishes with 105 points, and Craig Anderson wins it for Capitals in relief

Originally posted on The Daily Goal Horn
By Anthony Scultore | Last updated 5/16/21

Connor McDavid picked up his 105th point to close out the regular season in a 4-1 loss to the Canucks. Yes, the Canucks are still playing and so are the Flames as the NHL playoffs began last night too. That is the strangeness of this COVID 56 game schedule and will continue well into next week. Calgary and Vancouver play three more times to complete their regular season schedules due to the Canucks’ 3-week COVID hiatus.

Connor McDavid scores an astonishing 105 points

The Edmonton Oilers have closed out the season, with a “win” according to head coach, Dave Tippett. “That game was a win if nobody got hurt, and nobody got hurt, so we’re taking a win,” he explained. McDavid refused to rest before the playoffs but played less than usual in this one. Regardless, he registered his 72nd assist and 105th point in game 56 of the year.

McDavid’s 1.88 points per game would’ve prorated out to a 154 point season. Per Sportsnet Stats, that is the highest points per game total since the 1996-97 season. Amazing.

Connor McDavid (2020-21) 1.88
Mario Lemieux (2000-01) 1.77
Sidney Crosby (2010-11) 1.61
Mario Lemieux (1996-97) 1.61
Jaromir Jagr (1998-99) 1.57

Craig Anderson gets OT win in relief for Capitals over Bruins

The NHL playoffs got officially underway with the Capitals winning in OT. Nic Dowd scored 4:41 into the first overtime and gave the Caps a 3-2 victory in game one. This season, every team did their best to get an insurance policy in goal and Washington did just that in signing 39 year-old goaltender Craig Anderson.

Vitek Vanecek started the game but had to leave with a lower-body injury late in the first period. It came on the Bruins first goal when Jake DeBrusk fell on top of him. This forced Anderson into the game and he made sure to let Washington know they did the right thing by stopping 21 out of 22 shots. The Caps may go with Anderson for the rest of the series based on Vanecek’s status. Ilya Samsonov was not available after coming off the COVID list yesterday.

Tom Wilson opened the scoring for the Caps who are 9-2 in the playoffs when he gets a goal. T.J. Oshie who was a question mark coming in added two assists including the primary helper on Dowd’s game-winner. Game 2 is set for Monday.

“In this time of year, it doesn’t matter what happened,” Washington captain Alex Ovechkin said. “Somebody gets hurt, somebody didn’t have a game right, we have to find a way. I think everybody understands that. It is time for us to step up.”
NHL.com

This article first appeared on The Daily Goal Horn and was syndicated with permission.

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