Edmonton Oilers captain and centre Connor McDavid of Richmond Hill, Ontario has been named the National Hockey League First Star of the Month for December. In 15 games, McDavid had 13 goals and 21 assists for 34 points.
McDavid was also a +6 with four penalty minutes, one hat trick, 16 power-play points, one shorthanded point, one game-winning goal, 71 shots on goal, 83 faceoff wins, 10 blocked shots, five hits, four takeaways, and 24 giveaways. McDavid’s game-winning goal for the month came on December 4 in a 9-4 Oilers win over the Seattle Kraken. McDavid scored from Evan Bouchard of Oakville, Ontario and Leon Draisaitl on the power-play at 6:14 of the second period. At the time, the Oilers went up 5-2. In the same game against the Kraken, McDavid registered a hat trick.
McDavid’s shorthanded point in December was a shorthanded goal in a 3-1 Oilers win over the Boston Bruins on December 18. In an insurance goal, McDavid closed the scoring on an all-Canadian goal from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of North Vancouver, British Columbia, and defenseman Darnell Nurse of Hamilton, Ontario at 1:41 of the third period.
For the season, McDavid leads the NHL with 46 assists and 70 points. He has 24 goals, is a +1 with 16 penalty minutes, 30 power-play points, two shorthanded points, one game-winning goal, 145 shots on goal, 210 faceoff wins, 18 blocked shots, 15 hits, 13 takeaways, and 64 giveaways. The other shorthanded point was a shorthanded assist in a 3-1 Oilers win over the Vancouver Canucks on October 11. McDavid helped set up Draisaitl on an empty net goal with one minute and 13 seconds left in the third period.
The Oilers currently lead the Pacific Division. They have a record of 20 wins, 15 regulation losses and six losses in extra time for 46 points.