Long before Connor McDavid was collecting Art Ross and Hart Trophies as captain of the Edmonton Oilers, Wayne Gretzky did the same.
While his play was always outstanding, it wasn’t in Gretzky’s personality to be outspoken. Over his entire career, the Great One might have made a grand total of one inflammatory comment, calling the New Jersey Devils a “Mickey Mouse organization” that was “ruining the whole league.”
Gretzky’s infamous quote came after he had three goals and five assists in Edmonton’s 13-4 demolition of the Devils at Northlands Coliseum on Nov. 19, 1983. That was more than 40 years ago now, and still, no Oilers player has recorded more points in a single game than the eight Gretzky did against New Jersey that night.
Not unlike his forefather in greatness, McDavid says little and scores a lot. Especially when the opponent is New Jersey: he has at least one point every time he’s played the Devils, who are the only team that hasn’t kept McDavid out of the scoring summary at least once since he entered the NHL in 2015.
In McDavid’s 14 career games against New Jersey, Edmonton has gone 8-5-1 while the superstar centre has racked up six goals and 19 assists. He will look to continue his dominance of the Devils when the Oilers visit Prudential Center tonight (Dec. 21). Edmonton arrives in Newark having dropped three in a row, while McDavid just had his personal 12-game point streak snapped on Tuesday (Dec. 19) in a 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders. Here’s a look at five of McDavid’s most memorable performances against the Devils:
Jan. 7, 2017 – Oilers 2 at Devils 1 (OT)
While he didn’t score it, McDavid was instrumental in the deciding goal of what was his first experience getting a win against the Devils. First, he drew a penalty on Devils forward Travis Zajac with 2:19 remaining in overtime. Moments later, he picked up an assist when Mark Letestu put the puck behind Cory Schneider to bring an end to sudden death at Prudential Center.
McDavid also fired eight shots on goal in the game, which at the time was his career high. It was a watershed win for the young Oilers, who were on their way to ending the franchise’s decade-long playoff drought. Edmonton outshot New Jersey 43-20 but trailed 1-0 until Matt Benning tied the game with his first career goal, at 3:33 of the third period.
“I think in past times, last year for sure, we definitely would have gotten down on ourselves and been frustrated,” McDavid said. “We would have turned it into a ‘me show,’ meaning guys were trying to do it themselves. Tonight we were sharing the puck well and it didn’t matter that we were down all game long.”
Jan. 12, 2017 – Oilers 3 vs. Devils 2 (OT)
On the night that former Oilers star Taylor Hall returned for his first game in Edmonton since being traded the prior offseason, McDavid helped spoil his ex-teammate’s homecoming. The Oilers trailed 2-1 with less than half a period to play and McDavid had been held without a point, until he picked up an assist on Pat Maroon’s game-tying goal at 12:36 of the third. He then set up the winning goal 1:50 into overtime, with a beautiful feed on a two-on-one to Leon Draisaitl for a one-timer that Devils netminder Schneider had little hope of stopping.
“With him you always have to be ready,” Draisaitl said. “He can make things happen out of nothing. What a nice pass. It was pretty easy to tap that one in.”
Oct. 10, 2019 – Oilers 4 at Devils 3 (SO)
McDavid’s first career goal against New Jersey was pure clutch, coming with just 66 seconds remaining in the third period and Edmonton trailing 3-2.
Just 12 seconds into an Oilers’ power-play, McDavid knocked the puck past Devils goalie Mackenzie Blackwood on a goal mouth scramble to force overtime. Five minutes of three-on-three solved nothing, so the game went to a shootout where Draisaitl scored the only goal to lift his team to victory. He also picked up an assist earlier in the game, which was Edmonton’s fourth consecutive win to open the 2019-20 season.
March 19, 2022 – Oilers 6 vs. Devils 3
McDavid scored one goal and picked up two assists, equaling the most points he’s had against the Devils, as Edmonton rallied in the third period for its fifth consecutive win. Trailing 3-2 with less than 11 minutes remaining at Rogers Place, the Oilers erupted with four unanswered goals to close the game.
McDavid fed Evander Kane for the winning goal, on the power-play at 12:03 of the third period, his second time setting up Kane for a goal in the game. Edmonton’s captain then scored into an empty net with less than two minutes to play.
Dec. 10, 2023 – Oilers 4 vs. Devils 1
The Devils were once again haunted by the Kane-McDavid connection during the latest meeting between Edmonton and New Jersey, less than two weeks ago at Rogers Place.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Oilers’ 4-1 Win Against Devils
McDavid potted his 10th goal of 2023-24 with an assist from Kane at 4:23 of the third period, putting the Oilers in front by a score of 3-0. Devils forward Jesper Bratt scored to cut Edmonton’s lead to 3-1, but McDavid passed to Kane who fired the puck into an empty net with just over three minutes remaining, securing Edmonton’s seventh consecutive triumph. The Oilers would also win their next game 4-1, at home against the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 12, before hitting their current three-game skid.
The Devils of today are certainly no Mickey Mouse organization. It’s now more than four years since the Oilers left Newark with two points, after their shootout victory early in the 2019-20 season.
For all the success McDavid has enjoyed against New Jersey, the Devils are one of six teams he has yet to score a game-winning goal against (During Gretzky’s Oilers tenure, No. 99 notched four GWGs against New Jersey). Edmonton would love to see its captain check that item off his to-do list tonight.
