October 31, 2025
* All stats through 177 GP (games completed Oct. 30)
After a 2024-25 campaign in which the “playoff line” was five points or fewer for 97% of the season in both conferences, the difference between the lowest-ranked playoff team and the first team outside the bracket is razor thin on Halloween: a one-point difference in the West and a tiebreaker in the East.
* Teams that missed the playoffs last season have a combined points percentage of .540 so far this season.
* Nearly half of the teams with a points percentage of .600 or higher missed the playoffs last season (7 of 15). At the end of October last year, 13 clubs were .600 or better but only three were non-playoff teams from 2023-24.
* Non-playoff teams from last season have a record of 48-45-10 (.515 P%) against clubs that played postseason hockey last spring. The Penguins (1.000 P%; 4-0-0), Red Wings (.889 P%; 8-1-0), Kraken (.688 P%; 4-1-3), Mammoth (.667 P%; 4-2-0) and Sabres (.583 P%; 3-2-1) make up the top five in that realm.
* The top three teams in the Atlantic Division have combined for just seven playoff appearances in the past 10 seasons (since 2015-16 – MTL: 4x, OTT: 2x, DET: 1x). That list does not include participants in the last seven Stanley Cup Finals, which all came from the Atlantic (Boston, Tampa Bay and Florida).
* In the Eastern Conference, three teams that missed the playoffs last year currently hold a postseason spot (Detroit, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia), while last season’s non-playoff teams in Columbus, NY Rangers and Boston are tied with the playoff line in terms of points but sitting outside due to tiebreakers.
* 78.5% of games have been close games (1-goal margin or 2+ with at least one empty-net goal), the highest percentage in NHL history through 177 games (previous: 75% in 2021-22) and up 12% year-over-year. That includes 75.1% of all playing time tied or within a goal, the second-highest percentage in the modern era (since 1943-44) at this point of the season (75.5% in 1951-52).
* 26% of games have been tied through 55 minutes of regulation.
* 43% of games have included a comeback win, the 10th consecutive season that 40% or more of all games have been won in come-from-behind fashion through this stage of the season (177 GP).
* 12% of games have seen a team rally from a multi-goal deficit to win (through 177 GP), up from 2024-25 (10%). That includes six teams who have done so more than once: Ducks (2x), Oilers (2x), Stars (2x), Red Wings (2x), Rangers (2x) and Canucks (2x). Anaheim (Oct. 11-14), Vancouver (Oct. 16-17) and Dallas (Oct. 25-26) each did so in back-to-back games.
* The NHL is averaging 6.3 goals per game through the first month of the season. This marks the fourth consecutive campaign of at least that rate through this point (177 GP) for the first time in over 30 years (last: 20-season run from 1974-75 to 1993-94).
* 75% of goals have come at even strength through 177 games for the second straight year (77% in 2024-25), the first time this has happened at this point of the season consecutively in 45 years (1977-78 to 1979-80).
* All of these trends are playing out in front of buildings with fans at 95% capacity for the third consecutive season (through 177 GP).
Young players are making an impact in the early stages of 2025-26, with 14 teams led in goals by a Gen Z player, and the League’s youngest team tied (in terms of points) atop the Atlantic Division standings (more on Montreal below).
* Only 10 games into his NHL career, 18-year-old Matthew Schaefer has already become the youngest defenseman in League history with a point in his debut; tied an NHL record by starting his career with a six-game point streak; and became the youngest defenseman all-time with a game-winning goal.
* The Blackhawks rank among the top three in the NHL for goals (t-1st; 13), assists (1st; 20) and points (1st; 33) by players age 21 or younger, with Connor Bedard (6-8—14), 20, and Frank Nazar (5-6—11), 21, spotting Chicago a five-point improvement over their 11-game start last season. Bedard, who scored his first NHL hat trick during Frozen Frenzy, will open November with a head-to-head showdown against Connor McDavid on Hockey Night in Canada.
* The Ducks have had 42% of their goals this season come off the stick of a player age 21 or younger, tops in the NHL. Twenty-one-year-old Cutter Gauthier paces the club in goals (6), while Leo Carlsson, 20, tops Anaheim in points (4-7—11).
* Nineteen-year-old Macklin Celebrini (6-11—17) heads into Halloween among the top 10 in League scoring after finding the score sheet in all but three games for the Sharks in October. One of three players with a five-point game this season, Celebrini joined Wayne Gretzky (5x), Dale Hawerchuk (2x) and Bryan Trottier (2x) as the only teenagers in NHL history with multiple career five-point games.
Among the League’s top scorers are 16 players with 15 or more points and 13 skaters with eight-plus goals. Those groups are made up of players from six different countries: Canada, Czechia, Germany, Russia, Sweden and USA.
* Among the seven players tied for the League lead in goals with nine, Nathan MacKinnon is the only one who has recorded a 50-goal season and only MacKinnon, Mark Scheifele and Jack Hughes have topped 40 goals in a prior campaign.
* Three of the top 10 scorers are American, including leader Jack Eichel (VGK; Team USA), as well as Nick Schmaltz (UTA) and Dylan Larkin (DET). Schmaltz, a five-time 20-goal scorer and the only active player to score seven points in an NHL game (March 5, 2022), is on pace to shatter career highs in each scoring category, while Larkin is off to the best 11-game start to a season by a Red Wings player since 2012-13 (Henrik Zetterberg: 5-11—16).
* Nathan MacKinnon (COL), Nick Suzuki (MTL) and Mark Scheifele (WPG) are among four Canadians in the top 10 in points. MacKinnon has finished top five in scoring three years running but seeks his first Art Ross Trophy; Suzuki will take a career-best (tied) 10-game point streak into November; and Scheifele set the Jets franchise scoring record on Oct. 18.
* The top 10 point-getters in the NHL cover a 20-year age range, from 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini (6th; SJS) to 39-year-old Evgeni Malkin (7th; PIT) – with honorable mention to 38-year-old Sidney Crosby (12th; PIT). The group of players with 15-plus points includes one teenager, 11 players in their 20s and four in their 30s. Malkin’s totals through a dozen games (3-14—17) are among the top three ever at that stage of a season by a player age 39 or older, joining Gordie Howe (6-14—20; age 40) and Jean Beliveau (3-14—17; age 39).-31011238.png)
A snapshot of some of the best starts to the season for teams and players:
* After missing the playoffs by 11 points in 2024-25, the Penguins (8-2-2, 18 points) enter the final day of October sitting first in the overall NHL standings. It marks the franchise’s best October since 2013-14 (9-4-0, 18 points) and Pittsburgh’s best 12-game start to a season since their Stanley Cup-winning season of 2016-17.
* Kyle Connor scored a hat trick in the Jets’ season opener – one day after signing an eight-year contract extension – and has since helped Winnipeg to a 8-3-0 record through October. The Jets are the third straight Presidents’ Trophy winners to win at least eight of their first 11 games.
* Jack Hughes and the Devils (8-3-0, 16 points) are responsible for the League’s longest winning streak of the season so far as they went 8-0-0 from Oct. 11-26, part of the club’s best October in terms of wins (tied). Hughes shares the League lead in goals (9) on a Devils squad that ranks second in goals-per-game (3.73).
* In the first season under the Mammoth name, Utah (8-3-0, 16 points) surged to the top of the Central Division standings with a seven-game winning streak. Utah is the only club with four players who have at least a dozen points – 21-year-old Logan Cooley, 22-year-old Dylan Guenther, captain Clayton Keller and leading scorer Nick Schmaltz make up that group.
* The Avalanche (6-1-4, 16 points) posted the League’s longest season-opening point streak (8 GP; 5-0-3) thanks in large part to Cale Makar (3-12—15) who leads NHL defensemen in scoring after holding that distinction for the final 70 days of 2024-25 en route to winning the Norris Trophy.
* The Canadiens (8-3-0, 16 points) sit second in the Atlantic Division (tied in terms of points) thanks to their best 11-game start in nearly a decade (2016-17: 9-1-1, 19 points). Among the notables so far for the youngest team in the NHL: Cole Caufield shares the NHL lead with nine goals, setting a franchise record with his 11th career overtime tally during Frozen Frenzy (3rd OT goal of the season); the club with reigning Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson now has two players among the top five in rookie scoring, Ivan Demidov (1st) and Oliver Kapanen (5th); and Jakub Dobes (6-0-0) became the sixth goaltender in NHL history to start 5-0-0 or better in consecutive seasons (and first to do so as a rookie in each campaign).
* The Hurricanes (7-3-0, 14 points) had the League’s longest season-opening winning streak (5 GP) and were the last undefeated team, with Seth Jarvis becoming the first player in NHL history with four game-winning goals through his team’s first five games of a season.
Every team is represented by at least four nations, including the Lightning (9) and Devils (8) topping the list in terms of most nationalities across its roster this season (min. 1 game dressed). Those clubs also lead the way for representation among players named to preliminary rosters for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, with five apiece. A snapshot of some of the top performers among Olympic-bound players so far:
* Sebastian Aho (CAR; Team Finland): Aho had a point in Carolina’s first nine games of 2025-26, the second-longest season-opening point streak ever by a Finnish player (tied) – behind only the 12-game run he posted in 2018-19. He helped the Hurricanes to a 5-0-0 start, which made them the last team to suffer a defeat in 2025-26.
* Jack Eichel (VGK; Team USA): Eichel has 8-11—19 this season for the second-best 10-game start by an American in the past 32 years (behind only Jack Hughes in 2023-24).
* David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha (BOS; Team Czechia): At least one of the two players has factored on 65% of the Bruins’ goals this season, with Zacha (2-9—11) posting the best October of his career. Martin Necas (COL), also heading for Milan in February, started 2025-26 with an eight-game point streak – the longest season-opening run by a Czech player in a decade.
* William Nylander (TOR; Team Sweden): Nylander had the best October of his career, as did soon-to-be Olympic teammate Adrian Kempe (LAK). Swedish players have pocketed 206 assists so far in 2025-26, the second most at this stage of a season.
* Sidney Crosby (PIT; Team Canada): The only preliminary roster player who is a member of the “Triple Gold Club” totaled 8-7—15 for his best October since 2019, helping the Penguins to their best start through a dozen games since their last Stanley Cup-winning season (2016-17).
* Tim Stützle (OTT; Team Germany): With captain Brady Tkachuk missing substantial time with injury, Stützle has stepped in to lead (tied) the Senators with 5-8—13 this season, which has boosted his career totals to 120-219—339 (379 GP) and passed fellow Team Germany member Leon Draisaitl (133-198—331 in 362 GP) for the most points by a German player in NHL history at age 23 or younger.
After a month that saw Sidney Crosby (1,700 points), Alex Ovechkin (1,500 games), Nikita Kucherov (1,000 points), John Tavares (500 goals), Leon Draisaitl (400 goals) and Kirill Kaprizov (400 points) reach significant milestones, more major achievements are on the horizon during the second month of the 2025-26 season.
* Ovechkin sits one goal from becoming the first player in NHL history to score 900 goals, while Connor McDavid (364-732—1,096 in 724 GP) is on the cusp of 1,100 career points. McDavid will become one of the fastest players in League history to that milestone – the top three is currently held by Wayne Gretzky (464 GP), Mario Lemieux (550 GP) and Mike Bossy (725 GP).
* More milestones that could fall before the New Year: Patrick Kane is six goals from 500 and 27 points from surpassing Mike Modano for most by a U.S.-born skater; Brad Marchand is nine points from 1,000; and four players are within 10 appearances of 1,000 career NHL games: Nazem Kadri (3 away), Marcus Johansson (5 away), Jeff Petry (8 away) and Justin Faulk (9 away).
Ratings
The 2025-26 season started hot out of the gates across ESPN and TNT Sports, with audiences up 26% from this point last year.
International Content
International fans have also been locked in, as the NHL’s international social media channels in German, Czech, Finnish, Swedish, Slovak, Spanish and French delivered a 7% increase in engagement.
* NHL.com’s Czechia and Spanish websites experienced double- and triple-digit increases in October YOY, respectively. While Traffic to NHL.cz was up 30.5% and article readership was up 43.4%.
* Hispanic Heritage Month in October drove increased engagement on NHL.es, with article readership up 117% YOY.
Merchandise Sales Growth
Sales on NHLShop.com and NHLShop.ca in the month of October were up 9% YOY.
