The 2023–24 season’s first month is already in the books.

It has been full of thrilling matches, goals worthy of a highlight reel, unexpected teams, and unsatisfactory beginnings.

the middle With 20 points from his first 11 games, Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils is tied for the league lead in points. Surprisingly, Jesper Bratt, his teammate, is two points behind him. In all 11 of his team’s games, New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin has scored a point. Three players from the Vancouver Canucks are among the NHL’s top nine scorers. Jack Hughes’ younger brother, Quinn Hughes, is a defenseman, and center J.T. Miller both have 16 points. Center Elias Pettersson is tied for the most points with 20.

Surprising Anaheim Ducks forward Frank Vatrano (6-4-0) is tied for second place in the League in goals scored with nine, with Detroit Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat (7-4-1), who leads his team in the Atlantic Division despite missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs the previous year.

Bedard enters the room.

After Connor Bedard, a rookie center, scored his first NHL goal for the Chicago Blackhawks in his second game—a 3-1 loss against the Boston Bruins on October 11—he had an obvious smile on his face. Though most people know the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft for his amazing wrist shot, Bedard’s first League goal came via a wraparound against Linus Ullmark, the Bruins’ goalie. 

Matthews’s string of parries

The fact that center Auston Matthews scored hat tricks in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ opening two games stands out to me as one of the best moments of the first month of the season, though it may be considered cheating because it is from multiple games. Considering that only three players have scored three goals in a game since the NHL’s founding season of 1917–18, forward Alex Ovechkin is the only player to have scored four goals in a game and three goals in the first two games of the 2017–18 season for the Washington Capitals.

Sending off Snow Chris Snow

The assistant general manager and vice president of hockey operations for the Calgary Flames, passed away on September 30, over four years after receiving an ALS diagnosis. Twelve days later, his wife Kelsie, son Cohen, daughter Willa, and sister Colleen gathered in Calgary to pay tribute to him, remember him, and embrace the family he left behind. Never was the public memorial more emotional than when Cohen took the stage and declared, “He was my best friend.” 

Hughes begins with a question mark

The Devils center, Hughes, never ceases to astound teammates and supporters with his inventiveness when he possesses the puck on his stick. In the latter half of New Jersey’s 4-3 victory in their season opener against the Detroit Red Wings on October 12, the 22-year-old scored twice in a 5:04 span. 

Canadians emphasizing the present over the past

On October 14, the Montreal Canadiens hosted their 106th NHL home opener, a 3-2 victory over the visiting Blackhawks. It was also Bedard’s first game played on Canadian ice. The torch, which has served as a team emblem since 1952, has frequently been a feature of the opulent, sometimes tearful home-opener ceremonies that the Canadiens have held for decades as they honor their historic past. However, this season was nearly devoid of any reminder of Montreal’s illustrious past, except a brief scoreboard welcome from Yvan Cournoyer, the 10-time Stanley Cup champion. 

Lead the Red Wings to a scorching start with DeBrincat and Larkin

On October 22, the Red Wings continuously updated the NHL scoring leaders on Little Caesars Arena’s large screen. The Red Wings were 5-1-0 after a 6-2 victory over the Flames, with forward Alex DeBrincat ranking first with 12 points (eight goals, four assists), and center Dylan Larkin ranking second with 11 points (three goals, eight assists). 

A case of a frozen frenzy

The League On October 24, Frozen Frenzy was a hockey fan’s dream come true: 16 games, all 32 teams competing, and nonstop action. And what a night it was, with 102 goals scored, opening puck drops spaced 15 minutes apart, starting at 6:30 p.m. ET for Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Reilly and ending at 1:45 a.m. ET for Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore.