Another game, another superb achievement for Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers. The explosive and high-scoring center scored an early goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins Thursday night to set a career high with 45 markers this season.

McDavid had set his career best last season when he scored 44 goals. He has exceeded that mark in late February when he still has 23 games to go in the season.

The big center has scored 107 points to this point in the season, and he has  chance to reach the 150-point mark by the end of the season.

After the Penguins opened the scoring, McDavid sent a bad-angle wrister from the left side of the ice past Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry. That goal lit a fuse under the Oilers who were able to score three more goals and build a significant lead on the road against the Pens.

McDavid and David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins are battling for the NHL's goal-scoring lead and the Maurice Richard Trophy. Pastrnak has scored 41 goals with a game coming up Thursday night against the Seattle Kraken.

The Oilers have been somewhat inconsistent this season despite the presence of McDavid and high-scoring teammate Leon Draisaitl. Edmonton has a 31-19-8 record and the Oilers are in the first wild card position in the Western Conference. They are 4-1-5 in their last 10 games, and while they registered a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers Tuesday night, they had lost their previous 4 games.

Two of those losses saw the Oilers blow 3-goal leads, and it's clear that defense has been an issue. However, whenever they need offense, they know they can count on Connor McDavid.