There is a ton to cover on the latest edition of the NHL Stat Corner as we look at the last two days in the NHL. Highs and lows for teams, points, and milestones as I catch you up on all the latest stats and milestones from around the NHL.
Rielly & Matthews Keep Maple Leafs on Top
Toronto Maple Leafs’ Morgan Rielly has recorded the most four-assist games among defencemen since he entered the NHL in 2013-14 with four. He also has the third-most four-assist games in franchise history. Only Darrly Sittler (6) and Borje Salming (6) have recorded more with the Maple Leafs.
The team has an NHL-low 19.5 percent of points from their defencemen, despite what Rielly has done. This continues to bring up the question: who else will the Maple Leafs get to help out on the back end? Rielly has certainly held up his end of the bargain after signing a contract and will may go down as one of the best defencemen in franchise history.
Only three players in NHL history have recorded more consecutive seasons with seven-plus goal scoring streaks than Auston Matthews who has done it two seasons in a row. They are Gretzky (4) from 1981-85, Newsy Lalonde (3) from 1918-21, and Mario Lemieux (3) from 1986-89.
Matthews is also the third player in franchise history with multiple seasons with seven-game goal scoring streaks, joining Dave Andreychuk and Babe Dye. He has recorded 43 multi-goal games, tied with Charlie Conacher for 10th in franchise history.
Matthews has climbed himself right back into the Rocket Richard Trophy race, and does that really surprise you with these stats? Sometimes it takes him a little time to get going, but once he is on, there’s almost no stopping him with maybe the most dangerous wrist shot in the NHL.
Rangers’ Panarin Joins Elite Company as Undrafted Player
New York Rangers’ Artemi Panarin recorded 500 career points. Since 1963-64, Panarin is the sixth-fastest undrafted player to reach 500 career points (457 games played (GP)), behind Wayne Gretzky (235 GP), Peter Stastny (322 GP), Bobby Orr (396 GP), Joe Mullen (446 GP), and Adam Oates (456 GP). It’s hard to believe he went undrafted, but the same goes for all of the players on that list.
Panarin was also the fifth-fastest active player to reach 500 points. Only Connor McDavid (369 GP), Sidney Crosby (369 GP), Alex Ovechkin (373 GP), and Evgeni Malkin (413 GP) did so faster. An underrated player that sometimes goes unnoticed despite playing in New York, Panarin has been nothing but efficient since entering the league.
Nils Lundkvist scored his first career goal. Adam Fox played his 150th career game. The Rangers have gotten a lot younger on the back end, and these two defencemen will be key pieces for the future success in New York.
Wild are Hottest Team in the NHL
With 37 points (18-6-1), the Minnesota Wild are off to the best start in franchise history through the first 25 games of the season. They have also tied their third-longest win streak in franchise history at seven games. Their only two longer win streaks came in 2016-17 (12) and 2006-07 (9). They have the longest active win streak. A team effort and solid play all around has the Wild among the best in the NHL. They shouldn’t slow down too much if they continue to get contributions from everyone.
Boudreau Makes Early Impact on Canucks
Bruce Boudreau is just the fifth head coach in Vancouver Canucks history to win his first two games behind the bench, joining Willie Desjardins (2014-15), Alain Vigneault (2006-07), Roger Neilson (1981-82), and Harry Neale (1978-79). It’s the first time Boudreau has started a stint 2-0-0 with a team. He’s been the head coach of four different teams. Early returns from the Canucks’ two games is good, and the hope is that they can keep it up and now play to the expectations they had entering the season.
Quinn Hughes has the most power-play assists (53) in the NHL since his debut in 2019. Nobody has ever questioned his offensive ability, and he has been a constant on the power play for the Canucks.
Franchise Greats Have Golden Knights Off to Historic Start as a Franchise
Jonathan Marchessault played his 300th game as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights. He is the first player to do so and leads the franchise in goals (102), assists (138), and points (240). Max Pacioretty scored his 100th goal as a member of the Golden Knights, close behind Marchessault for the franchise lead. Mark Stone has the fourth-most three-point games in franchise history (9). William Karlsson (13), Pacioretty (12), and Marchessault (12) have more.
Related: NHL Stat Corner: Penguins, Capitals, Stars, Ducks, Avalanche, Canucks
The Golden Knights are the second-fastest team in NHL history to record their first 400 points as a franchise, doing it in 316 games. Only the original Ottawa Senators did so faster (313 GP). The Golden Knights have a league-leading four multi-goal comeback wins this season. On the backs of players mentioned above, the Golden Knights continue to be a force night in and night out.
Player & Team Stats & Milestones From Around the NHL
Team
- The Colorado Avalanche are the only team in the NHL this season to have scored seven goals in five different games. They are also the only team to score six-plus goals seven times. The Avalanche are just the third team to score five goals in a single period this season, joining the Canadiens and the St. Louis Blues.
- The Philadelphia Flyers have tied their longest losing streak in franchise history at 10 (0-8-2) (“Flyers play baffling game as losing streak hits double digits at 10”, NBC Sports Philadelphia, Dec. 8, 2021). They are two back of tying a team record of 12 consecutive games without a win, which came in 1998-99 (0-8-4), the last season before the NHL decided to count overtime and shootout losses instead of ties.
Player
- Andrei Vasilevskiy is just the second goalie in NHL history to win 60 or more games in a calendar year. The only other goaltender to do so was Marc-Andre Fleury in 2009 (62). Vasilevskiy still has 2/3 of December to go.
- Chicago Blackhawks’ Fleury is the eighth goaltender to play 900 career games, only three have played over 1,000 games.
- Nick Suzuki is the third-fastest Montreal Canadiens’ player in the past 25 years to record their first 100 points (154 GP), next to Saku Koivu (131 GP) and Michael Ryder (138 GP). He is also the ninth-youngest player in franchise history at the time of his 100th career point (22 years, 119 days).
- Jason Robertson (2) joins Tyler Seguin (3) as the only two players in Dallas Stars history to record multiple point streaks of seven-plus games at 22 years old or younger.
- Roman Josi has the third-most multi-point games in Nashville Predators history with 109. He trails only David Legwand (120) and Martin Erat (110).
- Matthew Tkachuk recorded his 300th career point. He is the second player from the 2016 Draft to reach that many points.
- Logan O’Connor is the 15th player in franchise history to score two goals 22 seconds or fewer apart.
- Tomas Hertl of the San Jose Sharks recorded his fourth career hat trick.
- Calgary Flames’ Adam Ruzicka scored his first career goal.
While the Avalanche continue to trend upwards, the Flyers keep falling. A couple goalies in Vasilevskiy and Fleury make even more of a mark on already impressive careers, while young players like Robertson and Suzuki show they have promising futures. Stay up to date with the latest NHL Stat Corner for all the latest stats and milestones from around the NHL every few days.