There are nights you never forget and for the thousands and thousands of them Rogers Place Thursday eveningit will be one they will never do.

And it won’t be an event Connor McDavid forgets, either.

You see, McDavid has never been one to savor the moment. Every time he hits a milestone in the past, sets a record, or does something otherworldly like Edmonton Oilers fans are so accustomed to seeing, he quickly turns away . He always gives credit to the teammates around him who helped make things possible.

It’s not that everything was too different when he scored the 1,000th point of his career in a 3-2 Oilers victory against the Nashville Predators, because he did not hesitate to recognize the plays made by Darnell Nurse and Leon Draisaitl to set him up for a rare one-timer goal.

But when McDavid was asked if, as he’s gotten older, he’s learned to soak in those moments a little more, he reflected honestly.

“Some of these things hit me a little more emotionally than I thought they would,” he said. “You spend your whole life playing hockey, loving the game and just wanting to play and make it to the NHL.

“1,000 points later, I’ve been doing this for 10 years, and it’s quite special. You take it for granted sometimes, and like I said, those moments give you an opportunity to look back and be grateful.

And while his father, Brian, could be seen cheering in the stands after the goal, so could his teammates who rushed to the bench to maul their captain on the ice. As the dust settled and some began to return, two remained behind: Draisaitl and Nurse, a duo that, along with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, has been there with McDavid since the beginning.

McDavid, Draisaitl and Nurse hugged, each talking after the game about how much it supposed to be involved in the objective.

“It’s kind of fitting, actually,” Draisaitl said. If there is a third assist, you would also like Nuge to be present somewhere.

“All three of us arrived at the same time, year after year, three years in a row. Knowing each other for a long time, being friends for life off the ice, it’s a good story.

“We don’t get them often,” Nurse would later add. “The three of us started here as kids, and we’ve been together now for 10 years, and we’ve been through some ups and downs together.

“Special moments like this, milestones like this, it feels like everyone is a part of it. I was so happy for Connor, he can be celebrated for all the hard work he does and how much he matters.

The beauty of it all is that the goal was important in the game, allowing the Oilers to fight back after Michael McCarron gave the Predators the lead at 8:22 of the game. McDavid’s goal came early in the second period, while Nurse scored a goal of his own less than three minutes later as Edmonton increased its lead.

A lesser third period saw them maintain that lead, until a bounced puck in the offensive zone and the Oilers out of position allowed Nashville forward Cole Smith to escape with less than three minutes left. to play, burying a shot to equalize. it’s over.

And while Nurse scored in the second, he would end the game in overtime, scoring on a beautiful no-look pass from McDavid curling over his stick, and into the back of the net.

Next up for the Oilers is a three-game road trip to Eastern Canada, which begins Saturday night in Toronto against the maple leavesahead of a back-to-back game Monday and Tuesday night against the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators.