This Week in the NHL: Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli face off for first time
So many games. So little time. What should you focus your NHL hockey fandom on if your favorite team’s games don’t scratch the itch enough?
Welcome to This Week in the NHL. From now until April, we’ll lay out a collection of key games, events and deadlines to watch on the league calendar each week.
So what’s on tap for Nov. 20–26?
Nov. 21 and 23: No games scheduled (!?)
Yup. Two days this week have 0.0 NHL hockey games happening. #BecauseNHL. The blank slate Thursday makes sense given the league is trying to avoid competing with the NFL on Thanksgiving. The NBA has no games Thursday, either. But the Tuesday is a head scratcher. Is the NHL accommodating the teams returning from the Global Series, perhaps?
Nov. 22: Bedard, Fantilli face off for first time as NHLers
Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli spent most of last season hyped as the presumed No. 1 and 2 picks in the loaded 2023 NHL Draft. Bedard ended up going first, while Fantilli fell to third, but the buzz around both players’ futures remains considerable. So far this season, Bedard has the upper hand on the scoresheete (9-6-15 vs. 4-5-9), while neither of their clubs is sitting pretty in the standings (5-11-0 vs. 4-11-4).
Nov. 22: Cal Clutterbuck’s 1,000 game
The crash-and-bang king has 999 games to his name. Not bad for a third-round pick in the 2006 NHL Draft. Clutterbuck’s milestone will arrive at a home game. He is the NHL’s all-time leader in hits with 3,798, holding a 64-hit edge on his teammate and linemate Matt Martin.
Nov. 22: Nashville Predators honor David Poile
No one in NHL history has accumulated more games and wins as an NHL GM. Poile held down a GM job in the league before his tenure with the Preds, but the post was his for Nashville’s first 24 seasons of existence before he handed the reins to his former longtime coach Barry Trotz for this season. The Preds will celebrate Poile, who still works for the team as a senior advisor, with a ceremony on Wednesday.
Nov. 24: NHL Thanksgiving Showdown
The NHL on TNT will host a doubleheader Friday, starting with the Pittsburgh Penguins visiting the Buffalo Sabres at 6:00 p.m. ET, followed by the Colorado Avalanche visiting the Minnesota Wild at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Nov. 26: Happy birthday, NHL
The league turns 106 years old Sunday and celebrates with a staggered five-game slate, beginning with the Wild visiting the Detroit Red Wings at 1:00 p.m. and concluding when the Anaheim Ducks visit the Edmonton Oilers at 9:00 p.m. ET.
Alex Ovechkin’s chase for 1,500 points
Alexander the GR8 spooked many a hockey pundit with his slow start to 2023-24. Was aging going to afflict him at 38 and ruin his chase for Wayne Gretzky’s goal record? Ovechkin has since corrected course somewhat, with his season stat line back up to a respectable 5-7-12 in 15 games. And while the goal record of 894 won’t be in site until next season at the earliest, Ovechkin can hit a nice points milestone as early as this week.
He needs just three to reach 1,500 for his career. Doing so would make him just the 16th player in NHL history to amass that many points. The player directly ahead of him on the leaderboard: Sidney Crosby, of course. After 19 years and endless comparisons to each other, it’s downright poetic to see them side by side in the all-time scoring race.
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