McDavid's opening streak reaches 13. Colorado ends the Devils' run.

Connor McDavid has an assist in each of Edmonton's first 13 games. That is an NHL season-opening record, achieved Wednesday as the Oilers beat Calgary 4-0. The previous mark was 12, shared by Wayne Gretzky, Ken Linseman and Sebastian Aho.

McDavid assisted on Mathieu Joseph's opening goal at 7:46 of the first period and Kasperi Kapanen's power-play goal 55 seconds into the third. Mattias Ekholm and Alex Formenton also scored. Edmonton put 32 shots on goal to Calgary's 24 and kept the Flames off the board.

The distinction is the start of the season: 13 consecutive games from opening night with at least one assist. It is not the record for every kind of scoring streak. McDavid's achievement stands on its own without stretching what the number means.

Avalanche 5, Devils 2: a tied game was not an even game

New Jersey reached the second intermission tied 1-1 at Colorado. It left with a 5-2 loss and its four-game winning streak over. The final score changed sharply; the imbalance in shots was already telling a less comfortable story.

Colorado finished with 44 shots to New Jersey's 22. Jake Allen stopped 39. Connor Brown had put the Devils ahead with a shorthanded goal at 12:21 of the first period, and Gabriel Landeskog tied it on the power play at 10:58 of the second.

Nazem Kadri scored 2:45 into the third, and Parker Kelly followed at 3:47. In 62 seconds, the tie became a two-goal Colorado lead. Nathan MacKinnon and Jaden Schwartz then scored 30 seconds apart at 12:00 and 12:30. Brown's second goal, at 15:35, completed New Jersey's scoring.

Shot totals are not a complete measure of chance quality. They do show that Colorado made Allen answer twice as often as the Devils tested the other end. His 39 saves explain how New Jersey could still enter the third with a chance to win despite that workload.

The Devils were playing on consecutive nights after winning in Dallas. That is relevant context, but it does not erase the difference in pressure. One loss need not undo a productive stretch. The practical concern is giving the goaltender more support when an opponent begins to take over the game.