With the end of October, the first month of 2021 NHL action is in the books. October gave us our first look into some of the team and individual player performances this season. That bears the question, which NHL players had the best performances in the month of October?
Connor McDavid
This entry should come as a surprise to absolutely no one. McDavid is proving yet again why he is one of the best players, if not the best player in the NHL. He finished the month of October already at 16 points, nine of which were on the power play. On top of this, he had multiple points in all but one of his first seven games. This includes ending the month on a streak of eight points through four games. McDavid has picked up right where he left off in 2020-21when he scored 105 points in just 56 total games.
With the extra 26 games this year, McDavid has a legitimate chance to break into the top 50 in regards to the records for most points in a season. He would need at least 130 points to surpass Guy Lafleur, who currently sits at number 50. With the way McDavid has been playing, the only real barrier to him reaching that benchmark (and possibly more) is his health. Fans of hockey will be hoping McDavid can stay healthy to see how many points he can accumulate this year.Â
Alex Ovechkin
Again, another unsurprising entry to the list of strong player performances in October. Through eight October games Ovechkin has a league-leading nine goals, and 15 total points overall. It’s amazing to see how little age seems to affect Ovechkin’s game, most notably his goal-scoring ability. He seems like a lock to have his usual 30-40 goal season after only getting a still-impressive 24 goals in 45 games last season. Doing so will help him in his ascension up the all-time NHL goal scorers list.
His two-goal performance against the Rangers in the Capitals opener already moved him past Marcel Dionne for fifth place on the list. He’s only three goals away from passing Brett Hull for fourth place and 28 goals away from passing Jaromir Jagr for third place. With the pace Ovechkin is scoring at early on, he seems like a lock for being third place on the all time list by the season’s end.Â
A Pair of Red Wings Rookies
To start the year, the Detroit Red Wings welcomed two of their recent top 10 picks to the team. First is Moritz Seider, a German defenseman taken by the Red Wings with the sixth pick in the 2019 draft. Second is Lucas Raymond, a Swedish left winger taken fourth overall in the 2020 draft. Both played nine games with the team in October, and both of them are amongst the team leaders in points.
Seider has eight assists, the most amongst rookies and is tied for seventh amongst defensemen in the NHL. He’s also been fairly reliable on the defensive side of the puck, playing on the first line alongside Danny Dekeyser. Raymond has four goals and 5 assists, good for the rookie lead in total points and a first-place tie in rookie goals. The Red Wings organization has to be thrilled with how these two rookies have performed thus far. If these two rookies keep up their strong play, it could rapidly accelerate their rebuilding efforts.Â
Jacob Markstrom
Jacob Markstrom had an outstanding start to his 2021-22 season in October for the Calgary Flames. He donned a record of 4-1-1, with a 1.33 GAA and a .957 save percentage, both at the top of the league. New Carolina Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen also excelled in October with very similar statistics to Markstrom. But the reason Markstrom is being featured is for his league-leading three shutouts in 6 games. Even more impressive is the fact that he stopped over 30 shots in two of the three shutouts. Markstrom has been instrumental to the Flames’ hot start to the 2021-22 season. Although highly unlikely, the Flames will be hoping Markstrom can sustain this level of play. But even if he doesn’t, Markstrom has at least proved that he should yet again be a highly reliable starting goalie for the Flames.
Featured image courtesy of Getty Images
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