Box Seats: Edition Eleven
For the Week of December 18th-25th
THE BOX SEATS
Edition Eleven, December 18th, 2023.
Hello, and welcome to “The Box Seats”, a column designed to keep Pro Hockey fans informed, educated and entertained with the news and notes from around the National Hockey League. So kick back, and read along every week during the National Hockey League season.
The National Hockey League plays it’s last week of games before the Christmas holiday, where the league will be off on December 24th for Christmas Eve, December 25th for Christmas Day and December 26th for Boxing Day.
Before the holiday festivities commence, we have some dynamite NHL matchups taking place around the league, including the hot New York Rangers battling the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, the Vancouver Canucks against the Dallas Stars on Thursday, and on Saturday, fourteen games will sendoff the league into the three day break.
We’ll touch on some of those contests a bit later in this NHL Weekly Recap, but first, let’s focus on a top NHL player to watch for this week.
PLAYER TO WATCH THIS WEEK
Michael Carcone – Forward, Arizona Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes have been on a very strong start to the season and a large part of their success is predicated to their 27-year old winger who has become an overnight sensation in the desert and beyond in Michael Carcone.
The Ajax, Ontario, Canada native has scored 14 goals this season, placing him 18th overall amongst skaters for goals in the league. In 30 NHL games before this NHL season, Carcone only had six goals and three assists. However, those who followed the Coyotes organization know that he scored 31 goals and 85 points for the Tucson RoadRunners in the American Hockey League.
Carcone leads the league in shooting percentage with 32.6% and with this clip in goals, there’s no reason why he should stop shooting anytime soon. The Coyotes host the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night before traveling to San Jose on Thursday and Colorado on Saturday evening.
Team Trends To Watch For
- The Dallas Stars continue their scorching-hot run with the First Period Over. They have cashed the First Period Over in nine consecutive games and are now 21-5 on the season. They take on the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday and the Nashville Predators on Saturday Afternoon. Starting goaltender Jake Oettinger is injured, which leaves Scott Wedgewood and Matthew Murray (no relation to the currently injured Maple Leafs goaltender) and that tandem could help continue the Over run.
NATIONAL TELEVISION SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK
December 19th
Edmonton at NY Islanders 
– 7:30p ET on ESPN+/Hulu
If you are an Edmonton Oilers fan and you don’t have ESPN+ or Hulu, you may want to change that, as the club starts a three-game stretch of streaming-only broadcasts.
Los Angeles at San Jose – 10:30pm ET on ESPN+/Hulu
The Kings look to keep their solid run rolling in the Pacific Division when they battle in-state rival San Jose in late night National Hockey League odds action.
December 20th
NY Islanders at Washington 
– 7:00p ET on TNT/MAX
The Islanders head to the Nation’s Capital to take on a struggling Alex Ovechkin and the Caps. Ovechkin has been on an 11-game goal-less streak, as of press time, which is the longest of his storied 19-year career.
Seattle at Los Angeles 
– 10:30p ET on TNT/MAX
It’s been a tough season so far with the Seattle Kraken, as they now look to take on the Kings in Hollywood to wrap up the doubleheader coverage on TNT.
December 21th
Edmonton at New Jersey 
– 7:00p ET on ESPN+/Hulu
The Oilers trek along the East Coast takes them to Newark on Thursday, where they will battle a Devils club that has been struggling defensively with shaky goaltending. The Oilers’ league-leading Power-Play units could feast in this contest.
Arizona at San Jose 
– 10:30p ET on ESPN+/Hulu
The Arizona Coyotes have been a fun team to watch as of late, along with a San Jose club that has finally awakened from their month-long slump to start the season.
December 22th
Edmonton at NY Rangers 
– 7:30p ET on ESPN+/Hulu
The “Eastern Stream” trip continues for the Oilers as they stroll down Broadway to the world-famous Madison Square Garden. Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch was the Rangers‘ AHL affiliate coach in Hartford from 2019 up until this past November when he replaced Jay Woodcroft.
December 23th
Nashville at Dallas 
– 2:00p ET on NHL Network
It’s a Central Division battle in Big D for this Saturday matinee on NHL Network. The Stars will look to navigate without star goalie Jake Oettinger as Jusse Saros and the Predators skate into town.
Pittsburgh at Ottawa 
– 7:00p ET on NHL Network
The national slate wraps up with a Hockey Night In Canada showcase as Sidney Crosby and the Penguins head to the Canadian Capital to take on the Senators before the holiday break.
Frozen Fashion: The Hockey Jersey of The Week
Each Week, we will select one NHL team jersey to highlight the design and the history of that specific sweater. This week, we take a look at a sharp looking alternate in the Buckeye State.
Columbus Blue Jackets 2010-17, 2019-Current Alternate Jersey
In 2010, The Columbus Blue Jackets unveiled a new alternate jersey, utilizing a classic striping approach and using the Battle Cannon as the main crest, with the Columbus Blue Jackets wordmark circling around the logo.
This jersey had written in the collar tag, “We fight, we march” for the majority of its years, but during the 2010-11 season, in which these were unveiled, the tag had a tribute to their late owner, John H. McConnell.
The jersey was briefly retired in 2017-18 when Adidas took over NHL uniform rights from Reebok, and returned in 2019, where it remains in rotation for home games. It will be worn eight times this season and only in home games against fellow Metropolitan Division opponents.
National Hockey League Trivia Question
Last Week: Name the only National Hockey League team without an official Team Mascot?
Answer: The New York Rangers are the only NHL team to not have an official Team Mascot. The Original Six club was founded back in 1926, when the only mascots you saw for sports teams in those days were with colleges or high schools. When the Philadelphia Flyers unveiled “Gritty” in September 2018, that left the Blueshirts as the only club without a mascot.
Q: Which NHL Player scored the most goals in one regular season game?
Hint: It happened over 100 years ago!
Come Back Next Week to find out The Answer!
Check out all the updated National Hockey League, hockey odds, NHL Picks and Parlays, NHL Weekly Recap, NHL standings, schedules, lineups, futures odds, team stats, recent news and betting tips, right here at Point Spreads.
