2018 Sees NHL Scoring At An All-Time High

Hockey fans have been treated to some exciting high-scoring eras throughout the history of the NHL over the past century, but nothing compares to what we’ve just witnessed in 2018. As the year slowly faded away in the rear-view mirror, the league just released some interesting statistics to support the fact that 2018 was a record-setting calendar year when it came to putting the biscuit in the basket.

The past year featured a grand total of 1,282 games during the regular season with all but 86 of them being decided in regulation time or overtime. In total, there were 7,662 goals scored for an average of 5.98 per outing. The previous high for a calendar year was 7,410 which was set back in 2006.

However, there were just 30 franchises in 2006 whereas the league expanded to 31 in 2017/18 with the addition of the Vegas Golden Knights. Still, we saw 252 more goals scored last year compared to a dozen years earlier. This means there had to be some outstanding individual performances in 2018, so let’s check out who led the way.

It’s probably no surprise that Edmonton Oilers’ skipper Connor McDavid topped the offensive charts as he finished the 365-day span with 121 points from 48 goals and 73 assists in 81 contests. Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen wasn’t far behind as he notched 34 goals and 79 assists for 113 points. Rantanen’s linemate Nathan MacKinnon followed with 110 points while Tampa Bay Lightning sniper Nikita Kucherov was just one point behind at 109.

Oddly enough, Pittsburgh Penguins’ teammates Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin both finished with 102 points while Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers scored an even 100. This marked the first time that seven players managed to reach the century mark since 1996. Back then, eight players pulled of the feat. If we include the postseason in the 2018 totals, we find Kucherov tops the list with 40 goals and 86 helpers for 126 points in 101 contests.

The NHL said there were two dozen streaks last year in which players scored at least one point in 10 consecutive games or more. Ten of these came in the 2017/18 season and 14 of them were notched in the current campaign. This was the highest total of double-digit point streaks in a year since 37 of them were recorded in 1993, a quarter of a century earlier.

The best sniper over the past 12 months was none other than Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals with 54 markers in 80 games played. Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets was a close second with an even 50 in 81 appearances. Seeing Ovechkin’s name at the top of various NHL scoring lists is quite common as the seven-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner also led the league in regular-season scoring in five other calendar years. He currently sits in a second-place tie in league history in this category as Hall of Famers’ Phil Esposito also led the league six times and Richard did it on a magnificent seven occasions.

In addition, the 33-year-old Ovechkin became only the fourth NHL’er to pop in the most regular-season goals after the age of 33. The others were Nels Stewart, Peter Bondra and Richard. With Ovechkin leading the Capitals to their first-ever Stanley Cup last season and taking home the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs, he also finished as top scorer for the regular-season and postseason combined. He chipped in with another 15 goals in the playoffs to finish the year with a total of 69 markers in his 104 outings.

Last year was another great one for the league’s crop of rookies and a first-year player managed to score five points during a regular-season contest on five different occasions. The New York Islanders’ Mathew Barzal and the Vancouver Canucks’ Elias Pettersson each managed it twice while Islanders’ blue liner Ryan Pulock did it once. The record for five-point games by rookies in a calendar year is six, which was achieved in 1918 as well as 1981 and 1982. Center Barzal was the winner of the Calder  Memorial Trophy as the league’s best rookie for 2017/18 with 22 goals and 63 assists for 85 points while Pettersson has a good shot at winning the award for 2018/19.

But although scoring may have been at an all-time high last year, it doesn’t mean the league’s goaltenders and rearguards were on hiatus. Vegas Golden Knights’ veteran netminder Marc-Andre Fleury recorded the most regular-season victories at 44 in 73 appearances. It was the third time Fleury has posted a minimum of 40 wins in a year as he won 46 games in 2009 and 45 four years later.

San Jose Sharks’ defender Brent Burns was the top-scoring blue liner last year with 12 goals and 70 assists for 82 points while The Minnesota Wild’s Matt Dumba led the way in goals with 19 during the regular-season.

As far as individual teams went in 2018, Tampa Bay earned the most regular-season points with 119 along with the most wins with 57 and the most goals scored at 313.

The calendar year featured 557 come-from-behind victories with 216 of those being pulled off in the third-period. In addition, three-goal deficits were wiped out on 21 occasions proving that teams are never out of a game in today’s run and gun era.

The numbers above are certainly interesting as the NHL has tried to rid itself of clutching and grabbing over the past few years and general managers are emphasizing speed and skill when draft day arrives. It looks like team enforcers have basically gone the way of the dinosaur and while fighting still exists, it’s a rare occurrence these days.

Nobody knows what the trends will be in 2019, but it’s probably a good bet that last year’s record number of total regular-season goals could be in jeopardy already.