Rink report: The most intriguing Frozen Frenzy matchups to watch


The NHL’s Frozen Frenzy has become one of those “Hockey Christmas” days on the calendar —
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Can you guess who has the best shootout percentage in NHL history with a minimum of 10 attempts?
I’ll give you a hint: it’s not Artemi Panarin (27-for-26, 58.7%). It’s not Patrick Kane, although he has the most goals and attempts in NHL history (53-for-132, 40.2%). It’s not Kane’s former teammate Jonathan Toews (52-for-110, 47.3%) or even (shockingly) my ESPN colleague TJ Oshie (49-for-104, 47.1%), who famously went 4-for-6 against Russia at the 2014 Olympic Games.
The name you are looking for is Petteri Nummelin, who played 139 games in the NHL — 61 games in the 2000-01 season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, then two seasons in 2006-2008 with the Minnesota Wild. In that time, he took exactly 10 shootout attempts and scored on eight, giving him an 80% success rate.
(Insert “The More You Know” rainbow star here…)
Matthew Schaefer has fallen out of the top three. It’s not because he has been playing poorly, but because the Hart Trophy finalist list is by design ruthless and unforgiving, and a two-game pointless streak gets you booted this early in the season. Sorry, kid.
Eichel still holds a share of the league lead in points, with 16 through nine games as the Knights roll on, so he stays on my finalist list.
Welcome Nick Schmaltz, Hart Trophy finalist. He has 16 points through 10 games, including seven goals, two of them winners for the first-place Mammoth. The 29-year-old is currently shooting at a 19.4% clip.
And welcome Jakub Dobes, Hart Trophy finalist. The Montreal Canadiens goalie hasn’t lost yet, going 5-0-0, with an elite .940 save percentage. He has faced north of 30 shots in four of his past five games. Last season’s playoff surprise, the Habs are atop the Atlantic Division, with 14 points.
Social teams around the NHL have really stepped up their game. The Utah Mammoth are definitely among them. Please give us more of these ridiculous graphics:
The Wild must be 6-2 their stomachs 💔 pic.twitter.com/0naH6ITHu1
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) October 26, 2025
I also loved the interaction between Tusky and WWE Superstar Drew McIntyre, who attended a game last week:
Looks like @TuskyNHL made a new friend tonight 👊💥@DMcIntyreWWE | @WWE pic.twitter.com/C0ZpCsonYA
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) October 22, 2025
This might have been the biggest “we live in a new era of admin autonomy” moment of the week: the Winnipeg Jets‘ social media admin posted this while attending the World Series:
no one here knows I’m the jets admin pic.twitter.com/r2HT1tyrxz
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) October 26, 2025
It’s funny and surreal to see on an official team account, and we’re here for the randomness. It’s relatable in the moment to Jets fans (a number of whom are also Blue Jays fans).
But the absolute best social post might have been courtesy of the Capitals, as they documented Ovechkin’s teammates arriving to the building for his 1,500th game. Iconic.
The boys cooked up a special arrival for Ovi’s 1,500th game tonight pic.twitter.com/kY5qH0WGN3
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 25, 2025
And, an extra stick tap to content creator SideDisch who recently surpassed 500 subscribers on YouTube. That’s the kind of milestone that motivates you to keep going — like a Jack Hughes hat trick … or a big Scott Stevens open-ice hit … or a Patrik Elias blind pass to Jason Arnott.