It’s officially 2024, and that means it’s time to check out what were the best games (in our opinion) of 2023 in the NHL.
With a total of 1,312 games in the regular season and anywhere from roughly 60 to 106 playoff games, there are a lot of games to go through. Although we might have missed some good ones, here are some of the best games we enjoyed in 2023.
Before thinking about betting on future NHL games, we should look back at how the previous season went. We couldn’t possibly select which was ranked 1st to 5th, all these games have different elements, but they certainly are up there with some of the best games in 2023.
Florida Panthers 3 vs. 2 Vegas Golden Knights (Stanley Cup Finals Game 3)
Of course we have to include a game that took place during last season’s Stanley Cup final, and it was game three of the series that made our list, as the Florida Panthers fought back to keep the series alive having gone down 2-0. It would go on to be their only victory in the best-of-seven game series.
Vegas started the game on the backfoot when they allowed Florida to take the lead following a Brandon Montour goal, but by the end of the first period, it was level-pegging, as the Golden Knights scored the equalizer on their powerplay with 4 minutes left in the first period.
A goalless second period ensued, which only made things more tense heading into the 3rd period. Finally, another Vegas powerplay saw them take the lead thanks to a Jonathan Marchessault goal with four minutes remaining on the clock, and then Florida’s main man Matthew Tkachuk decided to step up and equalized for the Panthers making it 2-2 with just under 2 minutes of regulation remaining.
Overtime followed, but first, the Panthers had to kill a Vegas powerplay, which was tense. Finally 4 minutes and 27 seconds into overtime, Carter Verhaeghe scored the winning goal for Florida, making the series 2-1 and giving the finals some life. Alas, it was not to be, as Vegas went on to win 4-1, but following that intense game, Florida was back in the tie.
Columbus Blue Jackets 4 vs. 5 Pittsburgh Penguins (March 7)
One of four-goal game comebacks in 2023, this was one of the most impressive as the Pittsburgh Penguins went 4-0 down come the 10th minute of the second period. Things didn’t look good for Sidney Crosby and co at this stage of the game, but a backhander shot from Jason Zucker halfway through the second period gave the Penguins some life.
A swift goal scored by Jake Guentzel at the start of the 3rd period after just 21 seconds made the score 4-2, and by the 4th minute of the game in the 3rd period, the scoreline read 4-4, with Zucker stepping up to score his second goal of the game, while Danton Heinen made it 4-4 after 03.59 seconds.
Overtime followed and who else was going to cap off one of the best comebacks of the year other than Sidney Crosby with his overtime-winning goal scored from a slapshot on the powerplay (this would be the Penguins’ only powerplay goal of the game)? Despite all the goals, there were only four powerplays in the entire game.
Columbus Blue Jackets 6 vs. 5 Toronto Maple Leafs (December 14)
The Columbus Blue Jackets have made our list yet again, and having done our research, they could have filled all five positions if we are being honest, having being involved in some crazy games including an 8-1 and 7-0 defeat (which are not included in the list).
This time, however, they won a high-scoring affair, but almost let it slip as they took an unprecedented 5-0 lead heading into the 3rd period. 99.9% of the time that’s game over, but on this occasion Toronto had other ideas.
The 3rd period saw a big rally from the Maple Leafs as William Nylander opened the scoring after just 38 seconds, the Leafs proceeded to continue scoring throughout the period, but it was still 5-3 with 2 minutes left on the clock, until Auston Matthews took to the ice.
Following a goal scored by Matthews with 75 seconds remaining to make it 5-4, Matthews scored just seconds later to tie the game up with 45 seconds remaining on the clock. Could this be one of the greatest comebacks in NHL history many thought? Well, they had every right to think so, but during overtime, the Blue Jackets saved themselves the embarrassment with a game-winning goal scored by Kent Johnson after 03.26 seconds.
When all was said and done, the Blue Jackets can thank their goaltender who made 48 saves on the night.
Carolina Hurricanes 2 vs 3 Florida Panthers (Game 1 Eastern Conference Finals)
The first game of the Eastern Conference finals between the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes turned out to be a marathon of hockey. Nobody expected the following when they turned up at the PNC arena that night.
A normal game of hockey was taking place, Carolina took the lead in the first period, and then the Florida Panthers rallied in the second with goals and assists from Carther Verhaeghe and Alexander Barkov to make it 2-1 Florida, but early on in the 3rd period Carolina equalized on the powerplay to make it 2-2.
A stalemate followed and overtime was to come, but not just any overtime, an eye-watering four-period overtime was witnessed by all that night. With a regular game being 60 minutes long, the overtime alone on this fateful night went on for a further 79 minutes (longer than a regular game), meaning both teams played two and 1/3 games that night.
Eventually, Matthew Tkachuk stepped up and ended the tie after 79 minutes of overtime, and probably to the relief of both sets of teams given how longz the game lasted. There were 125 saves made that night, and only 4 goals scored so impressive stuff from both goaltenders.
Dallas Stars 3 vs 2 Nashville Predators (December 23)
Although this might not make the grade as one of the best games overall, it was a history maker, as no team prior to this game had seen a team win in regulation after trailing in the final 15 seconds of the 3rd period. Yes, that’s correct, the Dallas Stars scored twice in the final 15 seconds to shock their Nashville neighbors.
A goalless first period was followed by a second period, which saw the Predators take a 2-0 lead into the 3rd. After 8.22 seconds the Dallas Stars made it 2-1, and having held the Stars to just one goal with 15 seconds remaining, Nashville was likely already counting on the victory, until Craig Smith stepped up to tie the game at 2-2 with just 15 seconds reaming on the clock.
In most cases, this is grounds for overtime, but on this night the Stars wanted to hit the showers early, and just 11 seconds later with 4 seconds remaining on the clock Jani Hakanpaa stepped up with his only goal of the season (thus far) and won the game for Dallas.
