NHL Scores & Highlights Box Seats: Edition Twelve
NHL Preview for the Week of December 26th-January 2nd
THE BOX SEATS
NHL Scores & Highlights Edition Twelve, for the Week of December 26th, 2023 to January 2nd, 2024
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. Let’s take a look at NHL Scores & Highlights.
The National Hockey League returns after a three-day hiatus to celebrate Christmas and Boxing Day. They return with a heavy schedule, starting with 14 contests on Wednesday night, and three straight nights with nine games from Friday to Sunday to close the book on 2023 before opening the 2024 New Year with the 15th Winter Classic, held this season in Seattle as the Kraken host the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Park, home of the MLB’s Seattle Mariners, in a nationally televised affair. First, let’s open this NHL Action Weekly Recap in review with a player and a head coach to watch for this week.
PLAYER & COACH TO WATCH THIS WEEK
Matt Duchene – Forward, Dallas Stars
The 33-year-old veteran winger who has bounced around the league for many years seems to have finally found a home with a comfortable fit with the Dallas Stars, who have played well thanks in part to the clutch scoring of Matt Duchene, who leads the National Hockey League with six game-winning goals this season.
His latest goal, which is his eleventh of the season, came on Saturday afternoon to tie the game against the Nashville Predators with 13 seconds left in regulation. Moments later, defenseman Jami Haakenpaa scored with 0.4 seconds on the clock to give the Stars the 3-2 lead and the victory. The Stars take on St. Louis and Chicago this week.
Andre Tourigny – Head Coach, Arizona Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes have been on a solid start to the season, currently sitting in fifth place in the National Hockey League’s Central Division with a 17-14-2 record. If the season ended today, the Coyotes would have the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, giving them a playoff berth for the first time since the 2020 pandemic-shortened season.
A solid part of that success can be credited to third-year Head Coach Andre Tourigny, who has been leading the way for the majority of this club’s rebuild and instability as the franchise looks to secure a future home in the Desert, with the team still sharing the 5,000-seat Mullet Arena with the owners, the Arizona State University Sun Devils out in Tempe.
The Coyotes have allowed just 95 goals this season, placing them tenth in the league overall in that category. Arizona has four forwards with double-digits in goals including Michael Carcone and Lawson Crouse, who are tied for the team lead with 14 tallies each. Below is a look at where the Coaches rank for the Jack Adams Award race:
| Coach | Team | Odds last updated 12/25/2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Rick Tocchet | Vancouver | +200 |
| Peter Laviolette | NY Rangers | +700 |
| Todd McLellan | Los Angeles | +800 |
| John Tortorella | Philadelphia | +900 |
| Andre Torigny | Arizona | +1100 |
| Bruce Cassidy | Vegas | +1200 |
| Derek Lalonde | Detroit | +1400 |
| Rick Bowness | Winnipeg | +1600 |
Team Trend To Watch For
The Dallas Stars continue their scorching-hot run with the First Period Over.
While their consecutive games streak ended at eleven after a scoreless first period against the Nashville Predators on Saturday afternoon, the Stars are still on a 22-6 streak to the first-period overs in their last 28 games.
They return from the break against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, and take on the Chicago Blackhawks in two separate home contests on Friday and Sunday nights.
NATIONAL TELEVISION SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK:
NOTE: With the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships going on during the Holidays, NHL Network will have extensive coverage of that tournament for those who wish to follow it, and as a result, a lighter national schedule for the NHL this week.
December 27th
Boston at Buffalo 
– 7:00p ET on TNT/MAX
The Bruins look to get out of the Christmas break and snap their recent slumping ways as they head to Western New York on a busy Wednesday back in the National Hockey League action.
January 1st, 2024
Vegas at Seattle 
– 3:00p ET on TNT/MAX
The 15th NHL Winter Classic will take place in the Pacific Time Zone for the first time ever as T-Mobile Park, home of MLB’s Seattle Mariners will be the site for the Kraken and Golden Knights in this outdoor contest to open the New Year of 2024.
Frozen Fashion: The Hockey Jersey of The Week
Each Week, we will select one NHL team jersey to highlight that specific sweater’s design and history. This week, we look at a jersey highlighting one of the more creative logos in the National Hockey League.
Carolina Hurricanes 2023-24 Current Home Jersey
In 1997, the Hartford Whalers franchise moved to North Carolina and rebranded as the Carolina Hurricanes, swapping their Green and Navy uniforms for a Red, Black, and White look and abandoning their iconic “HW” Whale logo for an edgy-looking Hurricane, which also conveniently looked like a hockey puck as well. This logo has been the prominent crest for the majority of the uniforms with Carolina, outside of the “Canes” wordmark for road jerseys and the storm warning flags, which originally were shoulder patches on the jerseys as a secondary logo, and eventually became the crest for the team’s black Alternate uniforms.
Come Back Next Week to find out The Answer!
National Hockey League Trivia Question
Last Week: Which NHL Player scored the most goals in one regular season game?
Answer: Joe Malone of the Montreal Canadiens holds the record for most goals scored in a single NHL game with eight on January 31st, 1920. This impressive feat was accomplished in a 10-2 victory for the Habs over the Toronto St. Patrick’s (now Maple Leafs) and remains untouched to this day.
Q: What year did the National Hockey League introduce the Winter Classic?
Hint: It’s been within the 21st Century.
Come Back Next Week to find out The Answer!
Check out all the updated National Hockey League, NHL Odds, NHL standings, schedules, lineups, futures odds, team stats, recent news, and betting tips, right here at Point Spreads.
