Who Will Be First To Attain 1,000-Level Mark: Oilers' Draisaitl Or Lightning's Kucherov?

Now that Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid reached the 1,000-point mark, the main target shifts to which NHL gamers might get there subsequent.

Brad Marchand, Nathan MacKinnon, Jamie Benn and Corey Perry are the closest. However two different names bounce out – Oilers middle Leon Draisaitl and Tampa Bay Lightning proper winger Nikita Kucherov.

The 31-year-old Kucherov and the 29-year-old Drasaitl are two of the NHL’s point-producing powerhouses, rating twelfth and sixteenth within the all-time highest points-per-game averages, respectively.

Draisaitl is presently at 874 factors in 737 profession regular-season video games, and Kucherov is at 899 factors in 741 video games. Kucherov’s point-per-game common is 1.21, whereas Draisaitl’s is at 1.19. That mentioned, Draisaitl has been extra constantly wholesome.

To wit: Draisaitl has produced 344 factors within the final three seasons, whereas Kucherov had 326 in that span. However Draisaitl performed 241 video games in these three seasons, whereas Kucherov appeared in solely 210 video games in that stretch. Kucherov’s injury-shortened 2021-22 campaigns in 2020-21 and 2021-22 made it simpler for Draisaitl to shut in on him within the factors division, and the Oiler outscored Kucherov 128-113 in 2022-23.

In 2023-24, nonetheless, Kucherov elevated the hole once more by outscoring Draisaitl 144-106, and he presently has 26 factors in 16 video games this season in comparison with Draisaitl’s 24 factors in 18 video games.

Each gamers at the moment are of their prime, so will probably be intriguing to see if one or each can keep their present factors tempo and even step it up whereas staying wholesome. And whereas Kucherov has an honest lead on Draisaitl, do not be shocked if the Oiler can get to 1,000 factors first.

Michael Traikos guessed Draisaitl in The Hockey News Big Show, whereas Ryan Kennedy guessed Kucherov. We might prefer to guess Draisaitl.

Draisaitl usually performs with McDavid, who’s some extent machine himself. Kucherov performs with gifted NHLers as effectively, however he’s far and away Tampa’s finest factors producer, whereas Draisaitl has a celebrity teammate on prime of high quality expertise in Edmonton to maintain him thriving and placing collectively many extra seasons of at the very least 100 factors.

Related: Oilers’ McDavid Hits 1,000-Point Mark: NHL Superstar Continues To Add To Legacy

We might even see Kucherov win his third Artwork Ross Trophy this yr because the NHL’s prime point-producer, however Draisaitl additionally has an Artwork Ross to his credit score and will leapfrog over Kucherov if Edmonton continues to return to kind.

Sure, MacKinnon will likely beat them both to the 1,000-point mark, as he presently has 932 factors in 809 video games, a 1.15 points-per-game common. Marchand has 942 factors, however he wanted 1,048 video games to get there. However Draisaitl and Kucherov are proper behind them, and although they might in all probability shake off any notion of a rivalry between one another, Kucherov and Draisaitl are each high-octane performers who might be producing at the very least a point-per-game for the foreseeable future.

There’s no query Draisaitl and Kucherov might be 1,000-point gamers, however the competitors to see who will get to that mark first might be extremely entertaining. And Oilers and Lightning followers are lucky to see Kucherov and Draisaitl compete night time in and night time out to be the primary between them to succeed in the 1,000-point plateau.

Get the newest information and trending tales proper to your inbox by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your ideas by commenting under the article on THN.com or by visiting our forum.

Related: Chasing Greatness: Ovechkin’s Pursuit Of Gretzky’s NHL Goal Record Brims With Reverence For The Legend