* The highest-scoring season in 29 years (6.4 G/GP) had 13 of 16 playoff seeds, 7 of 8 First Round matchups, 3 of 4 division titles and the final 3 playoff teams decided in the final four days (30 games) of the campaign. In fact, the last division winner and final two matchups were secured with a game-winning goal in the final two minutes of the 1,312-game schedule.
* The high-scoring, back-and-forth contests resulted in 42% of games ending as comeback wins, tied for the second-highest rate in League history, and produced multi-goal rallies at record-setting levels (detailed below).
* Entering the final five days of the season, the “playoff line” stood at one point in both conferences and the No. 1 seed had a maximum lead of two points in three of four divisions – with only the NHL record-setting Bruins having claimed a top seed by that point.
* Connor McDavid, the sixth player in League history to notch a 150-point season, posted the most productive season by an NHL player in a generation en route to claiming his third straight and fifth career Art Ross Trophy, along with his first Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy. He became the fifth player in NHL history to outright lead the NHL in goals, assists and points during a single season and the first to achieve the feat since Wayne Gretzky in 1986-87.
* Overall, the NHL had 11 players with 100+ points (most since 1995-96), five players with 50+ goals (most since 2005-06) and two players with 60+ goals (most since 1995-96 and ninth time in NHL history). Among the group of 100-point scorers was Erik Karlsson, the first blueliner to hit triple digits in 31 years and sixth in League history to accomplish the feat.
* Double-digit records toppled in 2022-23, with new Records.NHL.com entries for Most Wins and Most Points in a Season (Bruins), Most 40-Goal Seasons, Career (Alex Ovechkin), Most Consecutive Games Played (Phil Kessel), Most Goals, Period (tied; Tage Thompson), Most Shootout Wins, Career (Marc-Andre Fleury) and many more.
Rush to the Playoffs
* The 2022-23 season was the first since 2008-09 in which at least seven First Round matchups were still “TBD” entering the final four days of the regular season.The final 17 games and two days of the season solidified the seven remaining First Round matchups.
* The gap at the “playoff line” was six points or less in both conferences for the entire season and there were only 15 days in 2022-23 through which the difference was five or more (in either conference).
* For the first time since 2013-14 when the League returned to a four-division format, the No. 1 seed in at least three divisions was up in the air entering the final four days of the schedule.
* For the first time since the Atlantic, Metropolitan, Central and Pacific Divisions were introduced in 2013-14, the No. 1 seed in at least three divisions had a lead of two points or less entering the final four days of scheduled play. This excludes the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons whose schedules were paused or extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
* Five teams that did not compete in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs qualified this year: the Golden Knights, Kraken, Jets, Devils and Islanders. There has been a playoff turnover of 5+ teams in every season under the Wild Card format.
* For the first time in NHL history, two clubs posted a year-over-year increase of 40+ points in the same season (excluding improvements relative to shortened seasons). The playoff-bound Devils (+49) and Kraken (+40) combined for the feat relative to their 2021-22 finishes.
The Age of Offense
* Eleven players hit the 100-point milestone, the most in one season since 1995-96 (12).
* The NHL had multiple 60-goal scorers for the first since 1995-96 and ninth time overall. Connor McDavid (64) posted the second-highest goal total by an active player (behind Alex Ovechkin: 65 in 2007-08) en route to his first career Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy win.
* The NHL had five 50-goal scorers for the first time since 2005-06 (also 5) and 17th time overall. It also marked the first time the NHL had at least four 50-goal scorers in consecutive seasons (4 in 2021-22) since a three-year run from 1995-96 to 1997-98.
* The NHL had 19 players with 40+ goals, the most in 29 years (23 in 1993-94).
* The NHL had 54 players with 30+ goals, the most in 29 years (55 in 1993-94). Twenty-six teams had at least one 30-goal scorer, tied with 2021-22 for the second highest such total in a single campaign behind 2005-06 (27).
* After a record-setting 137 players scored 20+ goals last season, 129 players hit the mark in 2022-23 – the fifth most in NHL history behind 2021-22, 1980-81 (135), 1981-82 (133) and 1983-84 (130).
* Erik Karlsson (25-76—101 in 82 GP) became the highest-scoring defenseman in 31 years and the sixth blueliner to reach the 100-point milestone (at age 32, he also was the oldest ever to do so). He finished with a 25-point edge over the next highest-scoring defensemen. The only other time in the past 33 seasons that the defensive scoring leader finished with an edge of 20+ points was in 2011-12 when Karlsson had 25 points more than Dustin Byfuglien and Brian Campbell. The largest such gap in NHL history is 76 points, by Bobby Orr in both 1969-70 and 1970-71.
* Karlsson (32 years, 314 days) became the fourth-oldest player in NHL history (of any position) at the time of his first career 100-point season, behind Gordie Howe (40 years, 364 days in 1968-69), Johnny Bucyk (35 years, 327 days in 1970-71) and Daniel Alfredsson (33 years, 128 days in 2005-06).
* Erik Karlsson led a pack of eight defensemen with 70+ points, tied with 1993-94 for the second highest single-season total in League history behind 1992-93 (9).
* The tandem of Connor McDavid (71 PPP; 4th-most in a season) and Leon Draisaitl (32 PPG; t-2nd most in a season) led the most efficient power-play unit on record (EDM: 32.4 PP%) as part of the first trio of 100-point teammates in 27 years (along with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins).
* Alex Ovechkin recorded his record-setting 13th career 40-goal season, became the third player in NHL history to reach the 800-goal benchmark and moved past Gordie Howe into second on the NHL’s all-time goals list. Ovechkin (822) is 73 goals shy of surpassing Wayne Gretzky (894) for the most in NHL history.
* Sidney Crosby became the 15th player in NHL history to reach the 1,500-point milestone and became the sixth fastest among that cohort to achieve the feat. At age 35, Crosby (33-60—93 in 82 GP) did so on the back of his seventh career season with 90+ points, tied with Connor McDavid for the most among active skaters. He was the oldest of five players age 30+ to reach the 90-point benchmark this season, alongside Erik Karlsson (age 32), Artemi Panarin (age 31) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (age 30).
League Trends
* The NHL set single-season records for the number of multi-goal comeback wins(143) and multi-goal, third-period comeback wins (56).
* There were 550 comeback wins, one shy of tying the NHL record set last season (551 in 2021-22).
* There were 210 third-period comeback wins in 2022-23, the fifth most in any NHL season behind 2006-07 (228), 2021-22 (220), 2014-15 (218) and 2013-14 (212).
* 68.5% of games that extended past regulation ended in the overtime period (207 of 302), the highest rate at this stage of a season since the shootout was introduced in 2005-06 and up from an average of 43% over the 10 seasons before the 3-on-3 format was implemented. Overall, 23.1% of all games in 2022-23 required more than 60 minutes (302 of 1,312 GP).
* 20.8% of goals came via the power play, lower than the rate seen in all 39 seasons from 1978-79 to 2017-18. In 1993-94, when the goals-per-game rate last hit at least 6.4, 27.9% of goals were scored via the power play.
* This was the 12th consecutive season that even-strength scoring accounted for at least 75% of goals tallied in regulation and overtime (76%) – a first in 70 years.
* Connor McDavid (64-89—153 in 82 GP) posted the highest point total by any player in 27 years as he claimed his third straight and fifth career scoring title.
