NHL by the numbers at halfway mark of season

By the Numbers: The first half of the 2019-20 NHL regular season, with comparative stats through 638 games.

3,918 - Goals scored (including shootout-deciding goals), the second-most in the last 23 years behind 2005-06 (3,981). The 6.1 goals-per-game rate is tied with 2018-19 for the second-highest in that span (2005-06: 6.2).
2,953 - Even-strength goals scored (not including shootout-deciding goals), the most since 1992-93 (3,092). The 76.4% of all goals scored in regulation/overtime at even strength (2,953 of 3,865) is the highest since 1977-78 (77.4%; 3,249 of 4,198).
631 - Unique players with at least one goal, amounting to 76.9% of all skaters (821). Only one season in NHL history has featured more: 2018-19 (640).
445 - Games have been decided by a one-goal margin or multiple goals with at least one empty netter, accounting for 69.7% of all games contested in 2019-20.
269 - Games won by a team who trailed by at least one goal, tied for the fourth-most comeback wins through 638 games in NHL history.
154 - Games that have required overtime, equating to nearly one-quarter of all contests (24.1%).
140 - Games which featured at least one team erasing a multi-goal deficit (regardless of result) - representing over one-fifth of all contests (21.9%).
127 - Combined points by the Oilers tandem of Connor McDavid (22-42-64 in 43 GP) and Leon Draisaitl (23-40-63 in 43 GP), who rank first and second place in the Art Ross Trophy race, respectively. They're the second set of Edmonton teammates to rank first and second in League scoring at this stage of a season following Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri, who combined for the feat in 1984-85 and 1986-87 (outright or tied).
111 - Third-period comeback wins - tied for the third-most in NHL history through 638 games. The Stars
lead all clubs with seven victories
in games in which they were trailing entering the third period.
84 - Combined standings points by teams following a midseason head coaching change (39-23-6, 84 points), equating to a .618 points percentage. Two of the last four Stanley Cup champions have featured a head coach who took over the reins midseason: St. Louis in 2019 (Craig Berube) and Pittsburgh in 2016 (Mike Sullivan).
77 - Multi-goal comeback wins - the fourth-highest total in NHL history through 638 games.
56 - Consecutive days that either Connor McDavid (33 days) or Leon Draisaitl (28 days) have held or been tied for the scoring lead dating back to Nov. 8, 2019. The only other player with a share of the points lead over that time was David Pastrnak (Nov. 8-9, 2019). Nathan MacKinnon now sits two points back of McDavid with two games in hand.
50 - Points by Washington's John Carlson (13-37-50 in 41 GP), tops among all defensemen this season and the most by any blueliner since 1996-97 (Brian Leetch: 15-38-53 in 52 GP).
33 - Wins by a team that trailed by multiple goals in the third period - the highest total in NHL history through 638 games of a season.
31 - Different players with at least one hat trick, including four skaters with two (Noel Acciari, Connor McDavid, James Neal and David Pastrnak).
31 - Points by Colorado's Cale Makar (9-22-31 in 33 GP), the most among rookie defensemen. The 231 combined points by rookie blueliners is the fourth-most in the last 23 years behind 2005-06 (293), 2013-14 (246) and 2012-13 (238).
30 - Goals by Bruins forward David Pastrnak (30-30-60 in 42 GP), three more than Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (27-22-49 in 42 GP) for the League lead. Leon Draisaitl was the NHL leader at this stage in 2018-19 (28 G in 42 GP) - one of two players to reach the 50-goal mark last season.
23 - Teams either occupying or within five points of a playoff spot, including seven clubs who did not reach the 2019 postseason.
22 - Instances of a team recording a win streak of five-plus games, including one double-digit run achieved by the Islanders from Oct. 12 - Nov. 5, 2019 (10-0-0). In total, 17 different clubs have strung together a win streak of five or more games this season with the Bruins, Avalanche, Islanders, Blues and Capitals each owning two such streaks.
18 - Road goals by Capitals captain and eight-time Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner Alex Ovechkin (18-6-24 in 22 GP), the most by a player since 2010-11 (Steven Stamkos: 19 in 26 GP).
18 - Goals needed by Alex Ovechkin (682-568-1,250) to become the eighth member of the
NHL's 700-goal club
. He will pass Hall of Famers Teemu Selanne (684), Mario Lemieux (690), Steve Yzerman (692) and Mark Messier (694) on his path to 700.
15 - Players born in the 2000s to appear in at least one game, including five members of the 2019 NHL Draft class (Jack Hughes, Kaapo Kakko, Kirby Dach, Ville Heinola and Tobias Bjornfot).
14- Wins by a team that trailed by three or more goals - the highest total through 638 games in 30 years (23 in 1989-90). Nine of the three-goal comeback wins have occurred in the third period - the most in NHL history through 638 League games.
14 - Goals by Predators captain Roman Josi (14-27-41 in 39 GP), one more than Washington's John Carlson (13-37-50 in 41 GP) and Carolina's Dougie Hamilton (13-24-37 in 40 GP) for the most among defensemen this season. In 2018-19, Morgan Rielly (13-31-44 in 40 GP) was the only blueliner with 13 goals at the halfway mark.
11 - Points outside the playoff picture for St. Louis on Jan. 2, 2019, when they sat in last place in the NHL before eventually winning the Stanley Cup. Only three teams are 11 or more points outside the playoff picture today (Ottawa, New Jersey and Detroit).
10 - Players each with 50 or more points, marking the second straight season to feature a double-digit total (13 in 2018-19). Prior to 2018-19, the last campaign to feature 10-plus players with 50 or more points at this stage was 2007-08 (11).
5 - Points separating the first and fifth place teams in the Pacific Division standings.
5 - Points separating the top-five scorers with four of them reaching
60 or more points
, the second-highest total in the last 20 years behind 2018-19 (5).
5 - Four-goal comeback wins, tied for the most in NHL history (also 5 in 1985-86).
4 - Different decades in the NHL for Bruins captain Zdeno Chara as well as Sharks teammates Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau - the only active players to contest a game in the 1990s.
4 - Skaters who have
reached the 25-goal mark this season
. All are under the age of 25.
1 - Point separation between the four Canadian teams in the Western Conference. Vancouver has 48 points, one more than Winnipeg, Edmonton and Calgary; the Canucks, Jets and Oilers hold playoff spots and the Flames sit just outside the bracket.
1 - Point separating the top three teams in the NHL standings, with the Capitals (27-9-5, 59 points) and Bruins (24-7-11, 59 points) just ahead of the Blues (26-10-6, 58 points).