2017-18 SEASON ECLIPSES QUARTER MARK. . .
Highlights from the opening 49 days of the 2017-18 NHL season, which surpassed the quarter mark on Tuesday with 318 of 1,271 games played.
QUICK HITS
* Goal scoring is up 12.4% over last season, with an average of 6.1 goals per game.
* Twenty-three of the top 40 point-getters in the NHL are age 25 or younger (including five of the top seven). Overall, 46.7% of players to appear in a game this season are age 25 or younger (381 of 815).
* Thirty-two players are averaging more than a point per game (min. 15 GP), including three players above 1.50 P/GP – Steven Stamkos (1.75), Nikita Kucherov (1.65) and Johnny Gaudreau (1.55).
* Eight teams – including three division leaders (TBL, LAK, NJD) – who were not part of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs currently hold a postseason position (Eastern Conference: Lightning, Devils, Islanders and Red Wings; Western Conference: Jets, Kings, Golden Knights and Stars).
OFFENSE ON THE RISE
There have been 1,924 goals scored this season (including shootout-deciding goals), up 12.4% over 2016-17, with an average of 6.1 goals per game. Only one other season in the past 12 years has had more goals through 318 games – there were 2,008 goals scored in the first 318 games of 2005-06. Fourteen different clubs have scored at least seven goals in a game this season, led by the Blackhawks who tallied 10 times on the second day of the campaign to become the fifth team in NHL history to score at least 10 goals in a season-opening game. The overall scoring increase is supported by spikes in the number of goals scored at even strength (1,399; up 10.9% vs. 2016-17), via the power-play (431; up 17.4%) and while shorthanded (67; up 24.1%).
The jump in scoring has been highlighted by 23 hat tricks, with 21 different players registering at least three goals in a game and at least one such performance every week thus far – including six in the past 10 days. The 23 hat tricks are the third-most through 318 games in the past 20 years. The trend began on opening night, when Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds and Oilers forward Connor McDavid – the reigning Art Ross and Hart Trophy winner – each scored three times, marking the third time in NHL history that the first day of a season featured multiple hat tricks. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin – a seven-time 50-goal scorer and six-time Maurice Richard Trophy winner – then became the fourth player in League history to score a hat trick in each of his team’s first two games of a season – the other three occurred in 1917-18, the NHL inaugural season.
STAMKOS, KUCHEROV GUIDE EASTERN CONFERENCE-LEADING LIGHTNING
The Lightning duo of Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov became the seventh set of teammates in NHL history – and first since 1992-93 – to begin a season on simultaneous point streaks of at least 11 games, helping Tampa Bay to an Eastern Conference-best record of 15-3-2 (32 points) at the quarter mark. Stamkos (10-25—35), who leads the League in assists and points, has recorded at least one point in 17 of 20 games this season. Since the start of 2016-17, Stamkos paces all players with 1.49 points per game, collecting 19-36—55 in 37 games played. Kucherov (17-16—33), who became the sixth player in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to score a goal in at least seven consecutive team games to begin a season, paces all players with 17 goals and trails only Stamkos in points. He has 118 points since the start of 2016-17 (57-61—118 in 94 GP), second in the NHL behind Connor McDavid (40-85—125 in 102 GP).
VEGAS OFF TO HISTORIC START IN FIRST NHL SEASON
The expansion Vegas Golden Knights (12-6-1, 25 points), who rank second in the Pacific Division, opened the campaign with three straight victories en-route to becoming the first team in the 100-year history of the NHL to win eight of its first nine games in its inaugural season. The Golden Knights posted five consecutive wins from Oct. 15-27 to match the NHL record for longest win streak by a team at any point in its inaugural NHL season, equaling the 1926-27 Rangers and 1979-80 Oilers. Vegas shares the League lead with eight home wins this season (8-1-0), a record that includes an active streak of seven consecutive victories. The NHL record for longest home win streak by a team in its inaugural season is eight games, set by the Toronto Arenas in 1917-18. James Neal, who leads the club with 10 goals, became the first player in the expansion era to score in each of his team’s first four games in its inaugural season (he also tallied the first three game-winning goals in franchise history). Five different goaltenders have seen game action for the Golden Knights, with Maxime Lagace (4-5-1), Oscar Dansk (3-0-0), Marc-Andre Fleury (3-1-0), Malcom Subban (2-0-0) and Dylan Ferguson (1 GP) sharing duties thus far.
* Information provided via NHL Press Release
National Hockey League Press Release. Information provided from the NHL that describes various news releases that describe current events in the league.