With the calendar turned to November and the 25th anniversary of the Hockey Fights Cancer campaign underway, #NHLStats provides a “By the Numbers” look back at an October which featured the highest capacity crowds in seven years, double-digit viewership growth, a first-of-its-kind 16-game day, the launch of the NHL EDGE advanced stats section on NHL.com and the first of four outdoor contests this season. Comparative stats are through 140 games.
23,480,000 – Fans across North America who tuned in to watch NHL games in October. In the U.S., audiences were up 32% from October 2022 across ESPN and TNT. In Canada, Hockey Night in Canada audiences were up 17% YOY and TVA Sports’ Saturday night audiences were up 28% YOY.
21,900,000 – Engagements for NHL Social content. There have also been 381,600,000 impressions and 198,600,000 video views as well as the addition of 85,800 new followers across all @NHL channels.
2,423,282 – Total attendance for all regular-season games in October. Teams played to 95% capacity crowds for the month, the highest in October since 2016-17.
55,411 – Sellout crowd that attended the 2023 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic at Commonwealth Stadium on Oct. 29, which saw Oilers captain Connor McDavid return to the lineup for the hosts and help them defeat their “Battle of Alberta” rival.
870 – Goals (including 12 shootout deciders), with the 6.2 goals-per-game rate on pace with each of the past six seasons at this stage (6.4 in 2022-23, 5.8 in 2021-22, 6.1 in 2020-21, 6.1 in 2019-20, 6.2 in 2018-19 & 6.1 in 2017-18).
382 – Unique goal scorers, marking the third most in NHL history at this stage in a season behind 2005-06 (395) and 2022-23 (394).
300 – Career power-play goals by Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, who became the first player in NHL history to reach the milestone when he scored during Frozen Frenzy on Oct. 24. The landmark event featured all 32 teams hitting the ice for the second 16-game day in NHL history (and first with 16 different scheduled start times) and spanned nearly eight hours from the opening faceoff in Washington at 6:07 p.m. ET to the final buzzer in Las Vegas at 1:48 a.m. ET.
95 – Lead changes, marking the third most in NHL history at this stage in a season behind 1986-87 (108) and 1982-83 (102).
93 – Unique goal scorers during Frozen Frenzy, marking the second most on one day in NHL history behind the 94 on April 29, 2022.
82 – Number of 20 mph+ bursts by Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon, marking the most in the NHL this season and 17 more than the next-closest player (Martin Necas: 65). NHL EDGE officially launched on Oct. 23, delivering Player performance metrics from the League’s Puck and Player Tracking system and taking fans deeper into the game.
67 – Comeback wins (47.9% of 140 GP), tied with 1986-87 for the most in NHL history at this stage in a season.
36.26 – Miles skated this season by Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore, tops among all players. The end-of-season leader in 2022-23 was Oilers captain Connor McDavid with 309.43 miles.
35 – Shorthanded goals, including three by the Flyers on Oct. 21. The 35 shorthanded goals mark the most at this stage in a season since 2002-03 (37).
27 – Third-period comeback wins, marking the third most in NHL history at this stage in a season behind 2014-15 (29) and 2008-09 (28).
22 – Players that scored the first regular-season goal of their NHL career, including Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies (Oct. 21) and Kraken forward Tye Kartye (Oct. 19) who tallied in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
21 – Numbers of Vegas players out of the 27 that won the Stanley Cup with them that have dressed in at least one game for the League-leading Golden Knights (9-0-1, 19 points).
18 – League-leading point total by Devils forward Jack Hughes (5-13—18 in 8 GP), marking the second most by an NHL player through eight games in the past 20 years behind Sabres forward Thomas Vanek in 2012-13 (8-11—19 in 8 GP). Hughes had 11 of his 18 points across a three-game span from Oct. 20-25.
16 – Combined point total by Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard (4-2—6 in 9 GP), Ducks forward Leo Carlsson (2-1—3 in 5 GP), Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli (2-3—5 in 9 GP) and Sabres forward Zach Benson (0-2—2 in 6 GP), who were picks in the 2023 NHL Draft. Only one of the four has celebrated his 19th birthday (Fantilli during his League debut on Oct. 12).
15 – Multi-goal comeback wins, including one by the Ducks where they overcame a 3-1 deficit in the final 2:00 of regulation en route to their historic overtime victory on Oct. 26.
14 – Players in NHL history who made their League debut on Friday the 13th, including Coyotes forward Logan Cooley (0-2—2 on Oct. 13). Cooley broke the curse by becoming the first member of that group to record at least one point.
12 – Hat tricks, including two by Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (Oct. 14 & Oct. 11) and Ducks forward Frank Vatrano (Oct. 28 & Oct. 15). Hurricanes forward Teuvo Teravainen (Oct. 27), Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner (Oct. 14) and Canucks forward Brock Boeser (Oct. 11) account for the three instances of a player scoring a natural hat trick.
11 – Point total by Canucks captain Quinn Hughes (3-8—11 in 9 GP) and Rangers defenseman Adam Fox (3-8—11 in 9 GP), tops among all defensemen.
10 – Length (in games) of the active season-opening point streak by the Golden Knights (9-0-1, 19 points), tied with the 1992-93 Penguins (8-0-2, 18 points) for the second longest in NHL history by a reigning Stanley Cup champion behind the 1984-85 Oilers (12-0-3, 27 points). Vegas’ seven-game season-opening winning streak marked the longest by a reigning champion in NHL history.
9 – League-leading goal total by Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat (9-4—13 in 10 GP) and Ducks forward Frank Vatrano (9-1—10 in 9 GP). DeBrincat’s nine goals mark the most by a Detroit player through their first 10 career games with the franchise and trail only Mud Bruneteau (15 in 1943-44), Sergei Fedorov (10 in 1994-95), Ray Sheppard (10 in 1994-95) and Petr Klima (10 in 1986-87) for the most by a Red Wings skater through 10 contests in a season. Vatrano’s nine goals are tied with Corey Perry (9 in 2014-15) for the most by an Anaheim player through nine games in a season.
9 – Length of the active season-opening point streaks for Maple Leafs forward William Nylander (a new franchise record) and Rangers forward Artemi Panarin (five games from tying the franchise record). Other active season-opening streaks entering November include point streaks for Vegas (9-0-1) and Boston (8-0-1), along with six teams that have yet to suffer a regulation loss at home and six that have yet to lose in regulation on the road.
7 – Goal total by Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (7-3–10 in 9 GP), representing almost one-fifth of his total from the entire 2022-23 season (40 in 74 GP).
6 – Length (in games) of the Bruins’ season-opening winning streak, tied for the franchise record. It was the second longest by an NHL team that finished the previous regular season as the No. 1-ranked team, behind only the 1934-35 Maple Leafs (8-0-0). Teenage rookie Matthew Poitras (3-1—4) and 61-goal scorer David Pastrnak (5-3—8) combined for 8-4—12 during the six-game run.
6 – Instances where a player had 100+ mph shot attempt, with Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim accounting for two of them including the fastest one this season (101.49 mph at 5:20 of P3 on Oct. 19).
6 – Point total by Devils defenseman Luke Hughes (1-5—6 in 8 GP) and Ducks defenseman Pavel Mintyukov (1-5—6 in 9 GP), tops among rookie blueliners.
5 – Penalty-shot goals scored, including two by Bruins forward David Pastrnak. Pastrnak (8 GP) required the fewest games in NHL history to net two such tallies in a season. There have been 13 penalty-shot attempts overall this season, the second most at this stage of a campaign in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44, behind only 2013-14: 14).
5 – Multi-goal, third-period comeback wins, with the Maple Leafs (Oct. 21 & Oct. 11) accounting for two. Toronto became the fourth team in NHL history with multiple third-period multi-goal comeback wins through its first five games in a season.
5 – Teams that did not qualify for the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs that currently occupy a postseason spot: Vancouver (6-2-1, 13 points), Detroit (6-3-1, 13 points), Montreal (5-2-2, 12 points), Anaheim (5-4-0, 10 points) and Arizona (4-4-0, 8 points).
3 – Seasons in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68) where the reigning Stanley Cup champion and No. 1 seed from the regular season were ranked first and second (in any order) in the NHL standings at this stage. The 2023-24 campaign (Vegas & Boston) follows 1985-86 (Philadelphia & Edmonton) and 1970-71 (Boston & Chicago).
3 – Consecutive games with a shorthanded goal by Avalanche forward Logan O'Connor from Oct. 17-21. He matched the longest streak in franchise history set by Joe Sakic (3 GP from Oct. 15-24, 1998) and was one game back of tying the lengthiest run in League history by Maple Leafs forward Dave Reid (4 GP from Nov. 8-14, 1990).
2 – Players in Ducks franchise history that were younger than Leo Carlsson (18 years, 304 days on Oct. 26) at the time of their first career multi-point game: Oleg Tverdovsky (18 years, 250 days; 0-3—3 on Jan. 23, 1995) and Mason McTavish (18 years, 256 days; 1-1—2 on Oct. 13, 2021). Carlsson collected 1-1—2 that night including an assist on the overtime winner by McTavish.
2 – Players in Blackhawks franchise history that were younger than Connor Bedard (18 years, 86 days on Oct. 11) at the time of their first career NHL goal: Grant Mulvey (18 years, 32 days on Oct. 19, 1974) and Eddie Olczyk (18 years, 56 days on Oct. 11, 1984).
1 – Campaigns in NHL history where three teams tallied a season-opening winning streak of at least six games. The Golden Knights (7-0-0, 14 points), Avalanche (6-0-0, 12 points) and Bruins (6-0-0, 12 points) achieved the feat in 2023-24.
1 – This is the first season in NHL history to have only U.S.-born players atop both the goals and points lists at this stage (outright or tied), with AlexDeBrincat (Farmington Hills, Mich.) and FrankVatrano (East Longmeadow, Mass.) sharing the goals lead with nine and JackHughes (Orlando, Fla.) pacing the points list with 18. No season in NHL history has finished with a U.S.-born player leading both categories.
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