NHL players are getting faster and faster as this season is progressing, with two of the League's elite talents setting new marks for top skating speed this past week.
Per NHL EDGE stats, forwards Brayden Point of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche now have the top two skating speeds of the season; Point reached 24.15 mph against the Florida Panthers on Dec. 27 in the third period after MacKinnon skated 24.05 mph against the Arizona Coyotes on Dec. 23 in the first period.
MacKinnon's mark eclipsed the previous maximum speed of this season by his Colorado teammate Valeri Nichushkin, who skated 23.96 mph against the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 21 in the first period. Last season, the NHL leader in top speed was forward Ryan Poehling (24.32) while playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 15, 2022, and Point was a close second (24.26) for the Lightning on Feb. 7, 2023. Forward Denis Gurianov had the top speed of the 2021-22 season (24.60) while playing for Dallas Stars on Oct. 16, 2021.