There’s something aesthetically pleasing about an individual player taking over a game. It’s one of the things we love about hockey that one player can put a team on their back and dominate a game to steal a victory from the opposition. Yes, hockey is a team sport and requires every shift to play at a high level for a team to succeed, but a handful of games make fans admire and appreciate the stars, notably the remarkable performances.
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The 2022-23 NHL season had no shortage of single-game standouts. There were notable hat tricks, shutouts, multi-point games, and skaters thriving to help their teams win. The bottom line is that the stars of the game showed up big this year and, at times, willed their teams to victories. So let’s look at the most dominant performances of the past season.
10. William Nylander’s Five-Point Game vs. Flames (12/10/22)
On Hockey Night in Canada, the stars showed up. The Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the Calgary Flames, with both teams eager to build off strong starts to the season. The big headline following the game was Mitch Marner extending his point streak to 22 games, but the player that stood out was another top-six forward on the Maple Leafs, William Nylander.
In a back-and-forth game, Nylander was part of every goal his team scored. He found the back of the net twice with quick shots in the offensive zone, and he distributed three assists, including the overtime winner, to allow the Maple Leafs to win the game 5-4. The five-point game also kickstarted a career year for Nylander, as he’d go on to score 40 goals and 47 assists and take on a big role in a Maple Leafs team that would finish second in the Atlantic Division with a 50-21-11 record.
9. Connor McDavid’s Hat Trick Against Canucks (10/12/22)
When it comes to Connor McDavid, there are always a lot of games to choose from, and this year was no exception. He won the Hart Trophy for the third time in his career and scored a league-leading 64 goals and 89 assists. There were so many games to choose from that his hat trick against the Vancouver Canucks wasn’t even his only hat trick in October. In fact, on Oct. 27, he scored three goals and an assist to allow the Edmonton Oilers to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-5.
So why is this game the one that stands out for McDavid? For starters, his performance propelled the Oilers to a 5-3 win over the Canucks, as he added an assist to contribute to four of the team’s five goals. An added bonus is that he helped the team come back from an early 3-0 deficit with five unanswered goals.
However, the significance of this game was that it was opening night in the NHL. The hat trick kicked off the season in style, but more importantly, it set the tone for the season. McDavid entered the season with aspirations of leading the league in goals and clearing the 150-point threshold, and he ended the year accomplishing both feats. This game set the tone for a career year from McDavid, who has already established himself as one of the greatest in NHL history.
8. Connor Hellebuyck Blanks the Rangers (2/21/23)
Connor Hellebuyck has made his mark as one of the league’s best goaltenders and had a remarkable season. With the Winnipeg Jets’ defense providing a lighter workload for him, he had a .920 save percentage (SV) and a 2.49 goals-against average (GAA) on 1964 shots with 31.1 goals saved above average (GSAA). There were multiple games where he carried the Jets to victory, but the game that stood out for him was his lights-out performance against the New York Rangers.
As part of the New York area road trip, Hellebuyck started the game on short rest, starting the night before in a 4-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils. Against the Rangers, he was as sharp as ever, saving 50 of the 51 shots he faced. He didn’t earn the shutout but was far and beyond the best skater on the ice and notably outdueled Igor Shesterkin to allow the Jets to win the game 4-1. The 50-save performance highlighted a season where he not only bounced back from a rough 2021-22 but finished third in the Vezina Trophy voting.
7. Anze Kopitar’s Four-Goal Game Against Jets (2/28/23)
A week after Hellebuyck stood on his head, he was on the wrong end of another great night from an individual. Anze Kopitar scored four goals in a game where the Los Angeles Kings battled back to defeat the Jets and steal a victory on the road.
The Kings trailed 2-0 after the first period, then Kopitar sniped a shot from the faceoff circle to the back of the net on the power play. They then trailed 3-1 and he tipped the puck on a shot from the point for his second goal of the game. Trailing 5-3 in the third period, he sniped it past Hellebuyck on the rush to allow the Kings to force overtime.
The Kings ended up winning the game 6-5 in a shootout, with Kopitar scoring four of the team’s five goals. He not only stood out on the ice but was the reason the Kings ended up winning the high-scoring game. What’s crazy about the four-goal game is that it wasn’t even the best individual performance that night.
6. Linus Ullmark’s 54-Save Performance Against Flames (2/28/23)
The final day of February was a wild day in the NHL. Aside from being only a few days away from the trade deadline, with blockbuster trades happening throughout the week, what otherwise was a typical Tuesday had remarkable standout games. Kopitar had one of those great games, but the standout that day was Linus Ullmark.
It’s hard to find one game that stood out from the Boston Bruins’ starting goaltender, who was lights-out throughout the season. However, Ullmark’s game against the Flames, without question, was his best of the season and one of the best goaltending performances all year. The game all but secured Ullmark the Vezina Trophy as he willed his team to a 4-3 overtime win on the road.
Now, it’s easy to think that a game where a goaltender allows three goals is not only underwhelming but a disappointment. But the Bruins don’t win this game against the Flames without Ullmark. Why? He made 54 saves, and some of them required him to go from post to post to stop the puck from finding the net. On a night when the Flames’ offense was clicking and the defense wasn’t helping out their goaltender, Ullmark was on his mark. However, his performance wasn’t the best for a goaltender last season. Instead, that award goes to the goaltender that finished second in the Vezina Trophy voting.
5. Ilya Sorokin’s 49-Save Shutout Against Oilers (11/23/22)
Ilya Sorokin has burst onto the scene as one of the elite goaltenders in the NHL, and the night that put him on the map was against the Oilers. For context, the Oilers would end the season with the league’s best offense, scoring 3.96 goals per game. They were only shut out twice all season, once against the St. Louis Blues in a 2-0 defeat on Oct. 22 and against Sorokin and the New York Islanders.
The Oilers generated plenty of scoring chances and looked poised to find the back of the net in multiple instances, but Sorokin blanked them. He saved all 49 shots he faced and made the opposition look hapless in the 3-0 Islanders’ victory. What makes the performance all the more impressive is that the Islanders took five penalties against a power play that would become historically great. The Oilers scored on 32.36 percent of their power play opportunities last season, but they went 0-5 against Sorokin.
While the game occurred early in the season, Sorokin established himself as one of the NHL’s elite goaltenders after blanking the league’s best offense. The Islanders’ starter didn’t let up after that night as he both willed the team to the playoffs and finished the year as a Vezina Trophy finalist.
4. Leon Draisaitl’s Five-Point Game Against Predators (12/13/22)
The irony is that Leon Draisaitl had another five-point game against the Nashville Predators. Earlier in the season, he scored a goal and four assists in the Nov. 1 game against them to lead the Oilers to a decisive 7-4 victory. However, the Dec. 13 game was not only his most impressive game of the year but the best for the Oilers all season.
In this game, he scored two goals and three assists to propel the Oilers to a 6-3 win. His first goal on the power play capped off a three-goal first period for the team, while his second goal saw him carry the puck up ice off a turnover and zip it to the top shelf. McDavid is often recognized as the best skater on the Oilers, but Draisaitl, at times, reminds everyone that he is one of the best in the league as well and can similarly take over a game. Against the Predators, he did just that.
3. Artemi Panarin’s Five-Point Game Against Hurricanes (2/11/23)
Considering the opposition, this game might have been the best offensive performance of the season. The Carolina Hurricanes finished the season with the league’s second-best defense, allowing only 2.56 goals per game, but nothing could stop Artemi Panarin.
Along with a five-point night, Panarin scored four goals to fuel a 6-2 victory for the New York Rangers. Panarin has established himself as a pass-first player in his career with 216 goals and 445 assists. This season was no different, as he had 29 goals but a team-leading 63 assists. However, against the Hurricanes, he was looking to find the back of the net, and with open looks, he took advantage.
Panarin’s performance also was arguably the most impressive third period for any individual this year. The game was tied 2-2, but he scored three goals in the final period to not only give the Rangers the victory but put the game out of reach.
2. Kris Letang’s Return to the Ice Against the Panthers (1/24/23)
The first game back meant a lot more for the veteran defenseman, who battled injuries and suffered a stroke that initially ruled him out indefinitely. On top of that, Jan. 24 was Kris Letang’s first game back after missing nearly a month of action, followed by his father’s passing. Needless to say, the game was already a tough one for Letang both from a physical and emotional standpoint and what came next would be remembered by Pittsburgh Penguins fans for years to come.
The Florida Panthers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and looked poised to run away with the game. But the Penguins started the comeback with Letang flipping the puck on the net from the point, as he’s done throughout his career, and forward Rickard Rakell deflecting the puck to the back of the net. Letang’s assist was followed by back-to-back goals by the Penguins, including one by the defenseman himself with just under two minutes to go in the first period.
The game became a high-scoring matchup that ultimately featured 13 goals, and Letang was, without question, the best skater on the ice that night. Along with scoring two goals and two assists, he was the skater that ultimately ended the game. He scored the overtime winner with his shot in the final minute and sent the 17,159 fans at PPG Paints Arena into a frenzy. The fans understood the obstacles Letang had to overcome to make it back, and suddenly, he was the one leading the Penguins to victory and helping them turn their season around.
In a way, it felt appropriate that the Penguins were wearing their throwback jerseys that night. Letang’s night was a blast from the past as he looked like his younger self, a two-way defenseman that could take over games. The four-point night was his first since Jan. 7, 2015, when he had a five-assist game against the Jets, but this game was more significant. Letang not only returned but had a night to remember, one that is an integral part of his endurance and NHL career.
1. Tage Thompson’s Five-Goal Game Against Blue Jackets (12/7/22)
This was the game that put Tage Thompson on notice for most hockey fans. Many experts knew that the Buffalo Sabres had a young rising star, but the national audience wasn’t aware of Thompson and, specifically, what made him elite. He scored 38 goals the season before, but playing for a team that was out of contention, his production went unnoticed.
Against the Columbus Blue Jackets in a game broadcasted by TNT, everyone saw why Thompson is one of the best scorers in the game. He used his speed to find open shots on the rush, found the back of the net with anticipation, used his size (6-foot-6, 220 pounds) to power his way to the net, and his shot was what capped off most scoring chances. By the end of the first period, Thompson had four goals, and the Sabres had a commanding 6-0 lead.
To cap off the dominant game, Thompson scored his fifth goal with a second-period blast from the faceoff circle. His fifth and final goal of the night showed off his accuracy as he waited for a shooting lane and wristed the puck to the top shelf. Thompson is one of the bigger skaters in the NHL, but he has the speed and athleticism to take over games, and fans saw all his skillsets on full display in the five-goal outburst against the Blue Jackets.
The game highlighted a remarkable year for the Sabres’ best skater. He scored a team-high 47 goals, which was sixth-most in the NHL, and had Sabres fans memorize the song Fishin’ in the Dark by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (the song that’s played every time he scores at home games). Thompson burst onto the scene in recent seasons, and his night against the Blue Jackets was proof that he is the type of player that can take over a game at any point.
Honorable Mentions
Ullmark’s most impressive game was against the Flames, but on that same road trip, he had his most memorable moment of the season. On Feb. 25, he saved 26 of the 27 Canucks’ shots and scored an empty net goal in the Bruins’ 3-1 win. It was the first and only goaltender goal of the season, and fittingly, it came off the stick of the Vezina Trophy winner.
Erik Karlsson had a remarkable season and won the Norris Trophy for the third time in his career. Unfortunately, he played on a San Jose Sharks team that would finish the year with one of the worst records in the league. A testament to his great season on a bad team was his Nov. 1 performance against the Anaheim Ducks when he scored a hat trick and four points to help the team earn a point. However, the Sharks still lost the game 6-5 in overtime. Sometimes, there’s only so much that a star player can do.
Mitch Marner has established himself as one of the league’s best playmakers, distributing 69 assists last year and 386 in his career. On Feb. 21 against the Sabres, he assisted five of the six Maple Leafs goals to allow the team to win the game 6-3.
Speaking of five-point games, Matthew Tkachuk had one against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 6 in a 7-1 Panthers win. It was the first game back from the All-Star Break, and with two goals and three assists, Tkachuk made a statement that he was ready to carry the Panthers to the Cup, something he’d do a few months later.
Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils burst onto the scene as one of the NHL’s elite young players, but he didn’t have one game that stood out. Instead, he put together two performances that displayed his dominance with a hat trick on Nov. 26 against the Washington Capitals and a four-point game in an 8-1 drubbing of the Blue Jackets on April 6.
While not his most dominant performance, Thompson scored a hat trick in an emotional game on Jan. 3 against the Washington Capitals. It was the first game for the Sabres since Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest during a Monday Night Football game and was rushed to the hospital. With Hamlin in critical condition, the Sabres were led by their best player, who scored three goals on Jan. 3, to allow the team to win 3-2 (his football jersey number is three, making the game all the more memorable). It was an emotional win for the team, the Bills, and the city of Buffalo, and the victory came on the backs of another game that Thompson took over.
There’s no shortage of star power in the NHL, and the great ones stepped up and put together games to remember. Which performance was your favorite? Let us know below!
