NHL Scoring Rate at Highest Level in 28 Years

Good morning and happy Friday, December 9th.

Fist bumps to our psychic readers who predicted the Leafs and Kings game would have the largest margin of victory last night, barely edging out the Panthers' 5-1 defeat of the Red Wings and the Lightnings' 5-2 win over the Preds.

Enjoy your weekend and we'll see you first thing Monday morning. 🍻

Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid is on pace to score 73 goals and post 158 points this season. Jason Robertson, Tage Thompson and Bo Horvat are on pace for 60 goals or better. Five other NHLers are on a course for 120 points or better.

The NHL has played almost one-third of its season and scoring is at its highest rate since 1993-94. 

NHL teams are averaging 3.2 goals per game. Teams averaged 3.24 goals per game in 1993-94 when Wayne Gretzky won the scoring title with 130 points.

It’s impossible to pinpoint exactly why scoring is on the rise. The best guess:  a collection of factors is opening up the game. The list includes: The NHL’s continuing crackdown on obstruction, defenses struggling to combat the increased speed of the game and scorers finally decoding how to find the flaws in modern goaltending.

The average save percentage is now at .904. That’s the lowest it has been since 2005-06. Seven years ago, it was at .915. 

Twelve NHL teams own save percentages under .900 this season. Twenty-two of the 32 teams are giving up an average of three goals or more per game this season.

The simplest answer would be that we are in a period when we have better scorers than we have quality goalkeepers. It didn’t help that the NHL lost Carey Price, Henrik Lundqvist, Pekka Rinne and Tuukka Rask to retirement.

With increased scoring, no lead is safe these days. On Nov. 30, the Seattle Kraken squandered five leads before beating Los Angeles, 9-8 in overtime.

One truth about increased scoring is nobody complains about it. Except goalies. 😂

🔥 Matthew Tkachuk with another goal and assist to extend his point streak. Acquired over the summer, Panthers' forward Tkachuk has collected 3 goals and 5 assists during his current four-game point streak. The American forward leads all Panthers in scoring with 37 points in just 25 games played this season.

😱 Kris Letang returns to Penguins practice as full participant 10 days after stroke. Less than two weeks removed from suffering the second stroke of his career, defenseman Kris Letang is back in action, donning a yellow full-contact sweater in Pens practice yesterday.

TRIVIA: Who leads Russian-born players with the most NHL games played all-time?

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• 🎯 Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk makes nifty move & snaps one top corner

• ☘️ Maple Leafs score THREE goals in just 66 seconds vs. Kings

• ⚡️ Brandon Hagel showcases electric speed to score top glove shorty

• ⏏️ Pierre Engvall gets ejected after slashing Sean Durzi in the head

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• 👶 Six times Jordan Binnington acted like a baby

• The importance of getting pumped up and having fun while training

• Defense blue line head fake drill thanks to VT Hockey Skills

• 20 off-ice stickhandling drills to do at home thanks to Quest Hockey

TRIVIA ANSWER:

Alexei Kovalev leads all Russian born NHLers with 1,316 GP. Alex Ovechkin is second at 1,302 GP going into tonight's game.