Most memorable moment in 1st month of season debated by NHL.com

The opening month of the 2023-24 season is already in the books.

It has been filled with high-scoring games, highlight-reel goals, surprising teams and disappointing starts.

Center Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils is tied for the League lead in points with 20 in his first 11 games. Even more surprisingly, teammate Jesper Bratt is two points behind him. Forward Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers has a point in each of his team’s 11 games. The Vancouver Canucks have three players among the top nine scorers in the NHL. Center Elias Pettersson has 20 points, tied with Jack Hughes, and center J.T. Miller and defenseman Quinn Hughes, Jack's older brother, each has 16.

Forward Frank Vatrano of the surprising Anaheim Ducks (6-4-0) is tied for second in the League in goals with nine, along with forward Alex DeBrincat of the Detroit Red Wings (7-4-1), who sit second in the Atlantic Division after missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights and the Boston Bruins, who rewrote the NHL record book in winning the Presidents’ Trophy last season, have one loss in regulation between them; Vegas (11-0-1) is off to the best start by a Cup champ in the League’s history. Boston (9-1-1) is 74-13-6 in its past 93 regular-season games.

But so much more is going on across the League as well.

We asked our staff writers to encapsulate the first month of the regular season by picking out their most memorable moments. Here they are, in chronological order.

Banner knight in Vegas

No words. None needed. There was, however, a giant slot machine. That was needed. The Vegas Golden Knights raised their first Stanley Cup championship banner before their season-opening 4-1 win against the Seattle Kraken on Oct. 10 in a way only they could do. There was their knight helmet that lowers from the rafters to where the team emerges from the hallway leading to its dressing room. A replica stone was brought to center ice during the story narration that is always part of the pregame show at T-Mobile Arena. A costumed knight skated onto the ice and stabbed his sword into the stone. The scoreboard showed highlights from the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, their first season, Forward Mark Stone being named captain, center Jack Eichel arriving, Bruce Cassidy’s introductory press conference as coach and their championship run. The knight returned, pulled his sword out of the stone, and the Golden Knights came onto the ice through a haze of smoke, their intro music pumping. Stone raised the Cup over his head. The team did a full lap with it. The captain placed the Cup on a table next to the giant slot machine and pulled the lever. Triple Stanley Cups. The banner rose out of the machine. Winner. Winner. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

Bedard gets on the board

The look of pure joy was evident on the face of Connor Bedard after the rookie center scored his first career NHL goal for the Chicago Blackhawks in his second game, a 3-1 loss at the Boston Bruins on Oct. 11. The No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft is mainly recognized for his wicked wrist shot, but Bedard's first goal in the League was a wraparound against Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark. As Blackhawks forward Nick Foligno said, “If it was a wraparound on the bingo card, I don’t think we had that one.” There were a whole lot of great moments for Bedard in his first month in the NHL, from making his debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins and his idol, Sidney Crosby, to scoring his first goal on home ice, against the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 21. But the first of his League career is the one that stands out most for me. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

Matthews' consecutive hat tricks

This might be cheating because it’s from more than one game, but center Auston Matthews scoring hat tricks in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ first two games stands out to me as one of the top moments of the first month of the season. Consider that since the NHL’s inaugural season of 1917-18, when three players did it, forward Alex Ovechkin, who had a three-goal game and four-goal game in the Washington Capitals’ first two games of 2017-18, had been the only player with hat tricks in the first two games of the season. Matthews joined Ovechkin by scoring three times, including twice in the final 4:32 of regulation, to help Toronto come back from two goals down to defeat the Montreal Canadiens 6-5 in a shootout in their season opener Oct. 11. Then, he scored three more goals in a 7-4 victory against the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 14. Matthews was the first Maple Leafs player to score hat tricks in consecutive games at any point in a season since Wendel Clark on Feb. 24 and March 4, 1994. A pretty good, and historic, way to begin the season -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer

Sending off Snow

Calgary Flames vice president of hockey operations and assistant general manager Chris Snow died on Sept. 30, more than four years after he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Twelve days later, those who loved him gathered in Calgary to honor him, to remember him, to embrace him and the family left behind: wife Kelsie, son Cohen, daughter Willa and sister Colleen. The public memorial was tearful, never more so than when Cohen stepped to the microphone and said, simply, “He was my best friend.” But later that evening, two dozen friends and family gathered in the Snows’ kitchen, leftover food crowding the island, as the drinks were poured and the stories poured out. They were funny and admiring, from high school and college and parenthood. Some attendees were still in mourning clothes, some in pajamas, tears (mostly) dried and laughter spilling out from the people who had known and loved Chris well before he started working for the Flames, before he became an icon in the ALS community. It was heartbreaking and joyful and while “favorite” is not at all the right word to describe it, it’s the moment of the season that will stick with me long, long after the hockey has faded. -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer

Hughes starts with an exclamation point

Hughes, the Devils center, never ceases to amaze teammates and fans with his creativity whenever he has the puck on his stick. Such was the case in New Jersey's season opener on Oct. 12 against the Detroit Red Wings, when the 22-year-old scored twice in a span of 5:04 late in the second period of an eventual 4-3 win. His first, which tied the game 1-1, was a thing of beauty, coming from below the goal line after he skated down the left wing and banked a wrist shot off the helmet of goalie Ville Husso for a power-play goal. "You guys have seen me score those goals my whole career,” Hughes said. “But that was just where I wanted to put it. I think it went right where I wanted it to go." Hughes went on a heater in October, leading the NHL with 13 assists and 18 points in eight games. -- Mike G. Morreale, staff writer

Canadiens focusing on present, not past

The Montreal Canadiens played their 106th NHL home opener on Oct. 14, a 3-2 victory against the visiting Blackhawks in what was the first game on Canadian ice for Bedard. For decades, the Canadiens have prominently celebrated their historic past in extravagant, even emotional home-opener ceremonies, often featuring the torch that has been a team symbol since 1952. But this season, apart from a short scoreboard welcome by Yvan Cournoyer, the 10-time Stanley Cup champion, there was almost no flashback to Montreal's celebrated past. This torch-free ceremony was all about the current team which management and fans hope is the foundation of a 25th championship. “I think there’s the balance here: the past and the expectations of the present and allowing this group to chart their own path,” general manager Kent Hughes said. The message is clear: it’s time for the Canadiens of today to make some history of their own. -- Dave Stubbs, columnist

Welcome to the NHL, Connor

Bedard produced a lot of memorable highlights in October, his first month in the NHL. First shift, first point, first goal, etc. But for me, that unofficial “he’s finally made it” moment for the Chicago rookie came on Oct. 14 in Montreal when he was consistently jeered by the capacity crowd from warmups to the end of the game. For those who considered this a sign of disrespect, you couldn’t be more wrong. This is Montreal, the Bell Centre, the modern-day cathedral of the sport where banners honoring all-time greats like Maurice Richard, Jean Beliveau, Patrick Roy and Guy Lafleur dangle from the rafters. Fans here know a great talent when they see it, and in their educated eyes, Bedard fits the bill. That they booed him was the ultimate sign of respect; you have to be elite for them to react that way, and he knows it, even as a teenager. “I loved it, it was great,” Bedard said. “I didn't really think about it before the game but I thought it was awesome.” The kid gets it. Hey, fans at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto used to jeer legendary Bobby Orr every time he touched the puck for the same reason in the 1970s, and he ended up in the Hall of Fame. In that respect, Bedard is in some lofty company. -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

DeBrincat, Larkin lead Red Wings to red-hot start

The Red Wings kept updating the NHL scoring leaders on the big screen at Little Caesars Arena on Oct. 22. By the end of a 6-2 win against the Flames, forward Alex DeBrincat as No. 1 with 12 points (eight goals, four assists), center Dylan Larkin was No. 2 with 11 points (three goals, eight assists) and the Red Wings were 5-1-0. This was just what Detroit needed. The Red Wings haven’t had a 40-goal scorer since Marian Hossa in 2008-09 and haven’t made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2015-16. But now they have DeBrincat headlining a list of offseason additions, and they have hope. The win against Calgary -- in which DeBrincat had three goals and an assist, and Larkin had a goal and an assist -- was an early high point. -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

Frozen Frenzy fever

The NHL Frozen Frenzy on Oct. 24 was a hockey binge-watcher’s delight: 16 games, all 32 teams playing and nonstop action. And what a night with opening puck drop times staggered every 15 minutes and 102 goals scored, from Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly’s 7:07 into their 6:30 p.m. ET start against the Washington Capitals to Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore’s game-winner at 1:45 a.m. ET against the Philadelphia Flyers. The evening was a moment filled with moments, from the Golden Knights, Bruins and Colorado Avalanche remaining undefeated to Ovechkin becoming the first NHL player to score 300 power-play goals, to a five-point night (three goals, two assists) by Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman against the Edmonton Oilers. It was equally entertaining watching animated and caffeinated analysts John Buccigross and Kevin Weekes cover the hockey marathon on ESPN+ a la “NFL RedZone.” I needed a nap the next day. -- William Douglas, staff writer

Taking it outdoors in Edmonton

It had been 20 years since Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton hosted the first NHL outdoor regular-season game, and there was plenty of anticipation for the 2023 Heritage Classic. I did not attend the outdoor game 20 years ago, played in bitterly cold conditions, so I was excited to cover the game on Oct. 29. It lived up to its billing as more than 55,000 fans came out to watch the Oilers defeat the Flames 5-2. The weather cooperated as temperatures hovered just above the freezing mark, perfect for outdoor hockey. Oilers captain Connor McDavid returned for the game after missing the previous two with an upper-body injury. Overall, it was a wonderful experience and reinforced why outdoor games remain popular 20 years after the first one. Many Edmonton fans are still talking about attending the first Heritage Classic in 2003 between the Oilers and Montreal Canadiens and the next generation will likely be talking about having attended the 2023 game 20 years from now. -- Derek Van Diest, staff writer