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It’s not supposed to be a big deal when somebody who won the Rocket Richard Trophy last year and has 325 career goals scores another one.

But leave it to Connor McDavid to turn the routine into an event.

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After going 10 games without a goal — but still notching 23 assists during the so-called slump — the Oilers captain waited till the perfect moment in game 11 before he finally decided to score.

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He added two more apples in regulation for good measure and then buried the last-minute overtime winner in a 3-2 win over St. Louis Wednesday.

“The timing was excellent,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch. “He’s been doing everything but scoring and he’s been on the scoresheet two, three times almost every single night through that stretch. And wow, what a goal he provided in overtime.”

Zero goals and 25 assists is one of the more unique 11-game segments you’re ever going to see from a high-end player. It was a career-long dry spell, but is it even possible to call it a drought when the guy is averaging 2.5 points per game?

“There was no one to pass to,” joked McDavid. “I thought (Hyman) would be on the back side but he quit on the play, I guess.”

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But seriously, folks… McDavid says he wasn’t intentionally passing up shots while he was piling up points in the assist zone, it just worked out that way.

“I am always trying to make plays and to set guys up,” he said. “Obviously right now it has been more than scoring, goals have been hard to come by. I don’t know if there is a zone or anything, I am always trying to produce any way I can.

“I am not trying to not score goals, it’s just been that the pass has been there. I’ve been maybe making too many passes here and there, but they have been going in.”

Hyman quipped that McDavid was piling up assists instead of goals because he kept serving up sitters for him.

“I just keep trying to get open, and you (media) guys are on him for not scoring,” smiled the 40-goal man. “But it’s because he’s making those plays, and I’m the benefactor. He’s a generational player.”

E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com

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