McDavid scores twice, sets career-high for points in a season to lead Oilers past Sabres

Connor McDavid scored twice, giving him an NHL-leading 54 goals this season, and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 on Monday night.

In continuing to make his case for his third Hart MVP Trophy in eight NHL seasons, McDavid upped his league-leading points total to a career-best 124 — one more than he finished with last year — and enjoyed his 12th multi-goal game of the season. McDavid also extended his points streak to 11 games, in which the Oilers' captain has 12 goals and 15 assists.

Derek Ryan also scored and Stuart Skinner stopped 36 shots for the Oilers, who improved to 5-4-3 in their past 12, and bounced back from a 7-5 loss at Winnipeg on Saturday.

Jeff Skinner and Dylan Cozens scored for the Sabres, and Craig Anderson stopped 34 shots.

In dropping to 6-4 in its past 10, Buffalo continued its season-long struggles at home in losing five of its past seven.

Buffalo (32-26-4), in the midst of an NHL-worst 11-season playoff drought, failed to gain ground in a tight Eastern Conference race. Four points separated the seventh-place New York Islanders, and ninth-place Buffalo, which was locked in a four-way tie with teams with 68 points.

The Oilers (35-22-8) moved into a tie with Seattle for third in the Pacific Division.

After opening the scoring in the first period, McDavid scored the go-ahead goal 3:23 into the third period, and less than two minutes after Cozens tied the game.

Warren Foegele drove up the left wing to gain the Sabres zone and then spun to hit McDavid in stride cutting up the middle. McDavid veered to his left to get by defender Jacob Bryson, and snapped a shot in though Anderson's legs.

It was McDavid's ninth game-winning goal of the season, after he began the day in a four-way tie for