In-form Edmonton Oilers head to Vegas in pursuit NHL history
The Oilers, whose game against the reigning Stanley Cup champions will be their first after a nine-day break, are in search of a victory that would tie record of 17 straight wins set by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992-93.
Oilers captain Connor McDavid, a three-times NHL Most Valuable Player who leads his team with 67 points in 43 games this season, is just eager to get back to action.
"We're just excited to be back," McDavid told reporters on Monday. "Anytime that you have the first game back from a break guys are usually ready to go. I would expect them to be ready to go as well so I would expect an entertaining game."
The fact that the Oilers are on the brink of history is rather remarkable considering they fired their head coach in mid-November after a slow start to the season and fell into a tie for last place.
Edmonton's win streak began on December 21st. They went on to break the franchise record of nine straight wins that was set in 2000-01 and equaled last season, then surpassed the record by a Canadian team of 12 consecutive wins set by Montreal in 1967-68.
With a chance at history right in front of them, McDavid insists the Oilers, who are third in their division and five points behind Vegas but have played five fewer games, are not focused on the record.
"We're not talking about it in there (the dressing room)," said McDavid. "For us it's just about the day-to-day. Staying focused on what's in front of us.
"And what's in front of us is a very good Vegas team, one that's ahead of us in the standings and one that we would like to catch."