NHL Preview for October 24, 2023 – “IS THERE A HOCKEY GAME ON today? NO, THERE’S 16 GAMES!”

A day unlike any other in the 106-year history of the NHL begins at 6 p.m. ET when Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs face Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals in the first of 16 games on the day – all with different start times – and the opener of an NHL Frozen Frenzy tripleheader on ESPN. The network’s second exclusive matchup pits Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks against David Pastrnak and the undefeated Bruins for their second and final meeting this season and concludes with the 3-1-1 Flyers visiting the reigning Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights who also will look to remain perfect in 2023-24.

• To keep up with the continuous action involving all 32 teams, ESPN will debut a live “whip-around” show for Frozen Frenzy hosted by John Buccigross and analyst Kevin Weekes showcasing the best plays, hits, goals and moments of the night. The live show will include a combined 6.5 hours of unprecedented, non-stop NHL coverage, streaming from 7-8 p.m. ET exclusively on ESPN+ and then from 8 p.m. ET to 1:30 a.m. ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

STAR-STUDDED START: MATTHEWS VS. OVECHKIN TO OPEN ESPN TRIPLEHEADER

The second ESPN tripleheader of the season starts with a star-studded showdown between top goal-scorers with a remarkable connection to an iconic moment in NHL history.

Toronto Maple Leafs at Washington Capitals

Nearly 18 years ago on an eight-game Monday, a rising star by the name of Alex Ovechkin scored a “simply sensational” goal in Arizona that remains arguably the most iconic of his 822 to date and inspired the unprecedented hockey journey of a young fan in the stands who has scored more goals than Ovechkin since entering the NHL in 2016-17.

• Playing in his 44th NHL game on Jan. 16, 2006, Ovechkin powered his way up the ice and contorted his body while falling to the ice to score the 32nd goal of his career – with NHL goals leader Wayne Gretzky (894) watching in awe from the opposing bench and future NHL star Auston Matthews, eight years old at the time, staring in disbelief in the crowd. ESPN will air a feature on the goal during The Point, airing at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+ ahead of the Maple Leafs-Capitals opener for Frozen Frenzy.
• Matthews enters his 16th career regular season head-to-head against Ovechkin with 305 goals in 486 games, one shy of the amount The Great Eight had at that stage of his career. Ovechkin (8-8—16) has a narrow edge in goals against Matthews (7-11—18) through their first 15 meetings, but the younger of the two stars has more points and wins (TOR: 8-5-2; WSH: 7-7-1). Three of Ovechkin’s eight goals against Matthews have come via the power play, among the NHL record 299 such tallies he has in his career.

PICTURE PERFECT STARTS FOR REIGNING PRESIDENTS’ TROPHY, STANLEY CUP WINNERS

The second and third games of ESPN’s tripleheader will see the top team from the 2022-23 regular season and the 2023 Stanley Cup champions look to maintain their unblemished records.

Boston Bruins at Chicago Blackhawks

• After setting NHL records for wins (65) and points (135) last season, the Bruins will put their 5-0-0 record on the line when they wrap up their season series against the Blackhawks. Already the best start by a Presidents’ Trophy winner in NHL history, Boston will look to match the longest winning streak from the start of a season in franchise history – a mark set 86 years ago, with their sixth victory coming against the Original Six rival Blackhawks on Nov. 21, 1937.
• Boston is one of three teams in League history to start 5-0-0 or better after finishing the previous regular season as the No. 1-ranked team, with the other two clubs doing so before the Presidents’ Trophy was introduced in 1985-86. The original Ottawa Senators started 5-0-0 in 1920-21 after finishing with the top record in 1919-20, while the Maple Leafs had the best start by any reigning No. 1-seed by going 8-0-0 out of the gate in 1934-35.
• The contest will include two of 10 teenagers in the League this season in Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard (2-2—4 in 6 GP) and Bruins forward Matthew Poitras (2-1—3 in 5 GP), with the latter coming off a game in which he scored the first two goals of his NHL career. The first meeting this season between Chicago and Boston (Oct. 11) was memorable for both rookies as Bedard scored his first NHL goal in his second career game and Poitras notched an assist in his League debut.

Philadelphia Flyers at Vegas Golden Knights

• Off to the best six-game start in their seven-season history, the Golden Knights will put their season-opening six-game winning streak on the line against the Flyers (3-1-1, 7 points) who enter Tuesday’s Frozen Frenzy atop the Metropolitan Division standings after a seventh-place finish in 2022-23. Already the longest winning streak by a reigning Stanley Cup winner in League history, Vegas can become the 16th team to begin a season with at least seven straight wins – a feat last achieved in 2021-22 by both Carolina (9-0-0) and Florida (8-0-0).
• Travis Konecny (5-2—7) has matched the best five-game start of his career (also seven points in 2019-20 and 2020-21) and tied the Flyers record for shorthanded goals in one game Saturday, as the club did the same with three goals while at a numerical disadvantage.