It’s a U.S. Thanksgiving edition of the NHL Best and Worst. We’re thankful for another stellar week of hockey action, including some nifty moves, a historic coaching run, and a few mascots putting on the moves.
Here’s everything you missed — or need to see again — from the past week.
Goal of the week
Take a bow, Zach Benson. This might be the goal of the season, never mind the goal of the week. The 13th-overall selection in the 2023 NHL Draft has done nothing but impress since making the Buffalo Sabres out of training camp, and after scoring this electric first career NHL goal, it’d be tough to see him headed back to the WHL any time soon.
Save of the week
What a revelation Samuel Montembeault has been for the Montreal Canadiens over the past few seasons. Nabbed off waivers from the Florida Panthers in 2021, the hometown kid has seen his game evolve under the tutelage of Canadiens goalie coach Eric Raymond and now appears poised to earn an extension with his boyhood team. If he keeps making saves like this one against the Anaheim Ducks, that will be some money well spent for the Bleu, Blanc, et Rouge.
With a two-goal, six-point night against the Carolina Hurricanes in a huge Tampa Bay Lightning win on Friday, Kucherov has vaulted himself up the NHL scoring leaderboard into first place with 35 points in just 20 games — good for a ridiculous 143-point pace. Kucherov has slipped off the radar a bit of late due to a series of injuries and one shady LTIR stint — he’s finished outside the top-10 in Hart voting in each of his last three full seasons — but he looks to be back in full force.
Hit of the week
It isn’t often you see a forward serving as the last man back on an odd-man rush, and it’s even less frequently that you see them play it as well as Adrian Kempe does here. The 6-foot-2 sniper plays this one like a rugged 90s defenseman, absolutely lining up Frank Vatrano at center ice for an equally shocking and gorgeous hit.
Dish of the week
After a slow start to his NHL career, Quinton Byfield has beaten the bust allegations and is becoming quite the power forward menace in his own right for the surging Los Angeles Kings. With pillow-soft hands like these, however, it’s not hard to dream of what the 21-year-old could continue to grow into as he keeps acclimating to the NHL game.
Hands of the week
The Winnipeg Jets are finding their stride, having won eight of their last 10 to vault into second place in the eternally tough Central Division. That’s thanks in large part to the electric play of stars like Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor, but that doesn’t mean you should be sleeping on Nikolaj Ehlers. The Danish winger has had his struggles over the past two seasons, but there’s little denying his skill when he’s at his best, and if he’s going to continue to score disgusting goals like this one against the Panthers on Friday, expect clear skies ahead for the Jets.
Worst of the week
Tyson Barrie’s dynamic offensive game has slowed a bit since he helped run the Edmonton Oilers’ historic power play alongside Connor McDavid, but this might be rock bottom for the right-shot blueliner. In an effort to keep the play alive at the line, Barrie dekes himself out on a play that won’t be going on his mixtape anytime soon.
Stat of the week
The Boston Bruins remain absolutely ridiculous, which shouldn’t surprise any of us at this point. Even without Bergeron and Krejci, Boston has been steamrolling its competition and is still making history across the board, with the latest feather in its cap coming from the work of head coach Jim Montgomery.
That’s some good stuff, Coach.
After the Bruins’ win on Wednesday night, Jim Montgomery is 79-13-8 through 100 games with Boston. The 79 victories are the most by any coach through their first 100 games with a franchise.#NHLBruins | @PR_NHL pic.twitter.com/4u4h4eii8X
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 23, 2023
Willy’s new commercial
Leafs forward William Nylander has seemingly been everywhere over the first two months of the NHL campaign, with the star Swede making good on his contract year with an electric start to the season. It took until Game 18 of the season to finally hold him without a point, though not for lack of chances. A viral snap of him catching the subway has blown up in a big way, so much so that he’s even cashed in with this cute Rogers commercial starring his family.
New hobby
After quietly retiring after the 2018-19 season, Dustin Byfuglien has largely remained off the map, choosing to live out of the spotlight in his post-playing career. This week, however, Big Buff made headlines, as the lifelong competitor clearly began to feel the itch once again. Instead of returning to the ice, the Minnesota native decided to stick to water in liquid form, apparently becoming a competitive fisher. No word on if he’s been laying the body at the same prolific rate he was during his NHL days.
Gritty finds love?
Infamous Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty struck a deal with a young fan during a break in play. The kid is probably regretting his decision. We’ll let the video speak for itself.
The weirdest thing you’ll see this week
Somehow, Gritty’s cougar-adjacent escapades aren’t the strangest, or most seductive, activities an NHL mascot got up to over Thanksgiving. Check out this bizarre video from Coyotes mascot Howler in honor of Turkey Day in the United States.
French Fry Man
When you’ve got seats right behind the bench and are sure to get your mug on national TV, it’s best to make it memorable. This Dallas Stars fan got the memo and rocked what can only be described as the world’s strangest septum piercing.
Royal Code
With some royals making their way to Rogers Arena to watch the scorching-hot Vancouver Canucks, head coach Rick Tocchet got the opportunity of a lifetime to introduce himself to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. It seems as though he decided on a unique way to greet the powerful duo.
Daddy’s boy
With the Bruins on their annual fathers trip, we got plenty of great Dad Content out of Beantown with the squad chugging through Florida. Of all the clips, however, this absolute roast-fest from Matthew Poitras’ father takes the cake, as Phil Poitras completely eviscerates his poor boy.
The sun is good for you
There’s a certain level of absurdity to the Toronto media market given the intense microscope the players are under. As such, perhaps it shouldn’t be shocking that Mitch Marner was asked upon the club’s return to North America about how important the sun is to him. He took it in stride and even got a good chuckle from his back-and-forth with netminder Joseph Woll.
This whole back and forth on the “importance of the sun” between Mitch Marner and Joe Woll (off camera) is so funny.
“You’re a college guy, that’s true no?”
“They say the sun’s good for you”
“Exactly, that’s why I’m saying I like the sun!” pic.twitter.com/zNQHWd1zpw
— Jori Negin-Shecter (@JNeginShecter) November 24, 2023
Trending Up: Los Angeles Kings, 8-1-1, W5
The Kings are quickly looking like juggernauts, with a league-high five-game win streak in tow as they quickly gain on the defending-champion Vegas Golden Knights. Behind the dynamic duo of Kempe and Kevin Fiala, the Kings have been electric at both ends, currently sitting third in the NHL with 76 goals for and second in goals against with 47.
Even more impressively, nobody across the NHL has been as dynamite possession-wise as the Kings to date, with their 58.3% expected goals for percentage leading the NHL by a significant margin (their 3% cushion on second-placed Edmonton is the same gap between second and 11th). A decade removed from two Stanley Cups in three seasons, it may be time to start thinking big in the City of Angels.
Trending Down: Anaheim Ducks, 3-7-0, L5
A few hours south on I-5, things have not gone quite so well for the Anaheim Ducks. Losers of five straight, the Ducks have tumbled out of the postseason picture after a surprising start to their season.
