Two separate knee injuries limited McDonald in 1986–87. His total of 14 goals in 58 games was his fewest since his rookie season. He reached a milestone in the Flames' final game of the season, appearing in the 1,000th game of his career. Following a 10-goal campaign in 60 games in 1987–88, McDonald reached two additional major milestones in the 1988–89 season. On March 7, 1989, he scored the 1,000th point of his career with a wraparound goal from behind the net against Bob Essensa in a 9–5 victory against the Winnipeg Jets. Two weeks later, on March 21, he scored the 500th goal of his career on a nearly identical wraparound against Mark Fitzpatrick of the New York Islanders. It was the final regular season goal of McDonald's career.