Top 10 NHL plays of the 2022-23 regular season

Whew, 1,312 NHL games can really go by in the blink of an eye, right?

With the playoffs looming large, let's celebrate the regular season that was by counting down the top 10 plays of 2022-23, beginning with one honorable mention.

HM: No one's called bank quite like this before 🏦

April 2, 2023

Unless you believe Rickard Rakell totally did it on purpose, this isn't the most technically impressive play of the season. But we felt we had to give an honorable mention to what might just be the wackiest goal of the year.

The Pittsburgh Penguins forward wired a hard shot off the glass behind the Philadelphia Flyers' crease. The puck ricochetted and followed a perfect trajectory to goaltender Samuel Ersson, bouncing off him and in. If you ran this play 100 times, it might only end up in the back of the net once.

You'll probably be watching this one a couple of times.

10. Ullmark prevents goals, but he can score 'em, too 😉

Feb. 25, 2023

Years from now, if you ask Linus Ullmark what his favorite personal moment of the 2022-23 campaign was, we wouldn't be surprised if his goal against the Vancouver Canucks was at the top of his list (unless the Boston Bruins win the Stanley Cup in a few months' time, of course).

The Vezina Trophy front-runner's shot was an absolute dart right into the middle of the net - he didn't even need to bank it off the boards. Then, like any seasoned goal-scorer, he skated down the Bruins' bench for some celebratory glove taps.

Ullmark became the 13th netminder in NHL history to light the lamp in the regular season and the first since Pekka Rinne in 2020. Now that he has a taste for it, will he join Martin Brodeur and Ron Hextall as the third goalie to accomplish the feat in the playoffs?

9. Super Suzuki's shorthanded swag 😎

April 12, 2023

Nick Suzuki waited until one of the last days of the regular season to submit his bid for these rankings, but he certainly got our attention.

The Montreal Canadiens captain's tally isn't like any of the other goals on this list. He didn't need to undress his defender with any flashy moves or dekes - he just got on his horse for one of the more unique, hard-working tucks of the season.

Suzuki bore down on New York Islanders defenseman Samuel Bolduc, got his stick on the puck first, and roofed it past goalie Ilya Sorokin. With one hand. While on one knee. On the penalty kill. There's quite a lot to like here, especially the effort Suzuki put in.

8. McDavid waits ... and waits ... and waits ⏳

Feb. 11, 2023

As the incumbent Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner, it feels odd to not include a Connor McDavid goal on these rankings - he had 64 of them, after all.

Oh, wait, he also took home the Art Ross Trophy after terrorizing his opponents with 153 points. This sickening assist against the Ottawa Senators will surely suffice.

The Edmonton Oilers superstar hounded Thomas Chabot, taking the puck from Ottawa's busiest blue-liner. Then, McDavid held off Chabot for what is simply an alarming amount of time while waiting for help to arrive. When Ryan McLeod entered the fray, McDavid found a seam between two defenders for an unbelievable feed. Oh, and all of this happened on the penalty kill.

7. Johnson brings Michigan to Ohio 😏

March 24, 2023

Michigan goals in the NHL don't feel overplayed or overhyped yet, so we had no choice but to spotlight Columbus Blue Jackets rookie Kent Johnson for pulling off the lacrosse-style tally.

He made it look way too easy, skating behind the net, scooping the puck on his stick, and flipping it past Sorokin (who's certainly no slouch) in one fluid motion. Johnson burned the Isles' defense with a filthy toe drag to set the opportunity up, too.

It didn't look like Johnson's first time enthralling audiences with the tricky play, and unsurprisingly, it wasn't. He memorably scored a Michigan goal at the 2022 World Junior Championship in August. We're looking forward to seeing what other tricks Johnson has up his sleeve.

6. Brossoit's bombastic barrel roll 🙅

Feb. 25, 2023

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Laurent Brossoit showed off his breakdancing skills in overtime against the Dallas Stars, and honestly, we're kind of jealous.

With Brossoit down on the play after making a stop on Jason Robertson - which was solid in its own right - Tyler Seguin appeared to have the game-winner on his stick. Sin City's netminder clearly had other ideas.

He rolled over, using that momentum to swat the puck out of harm's way with his left arm in one of the most acrobatic, desperate feats of the season. Do a barrel roll!

5. Thompson puts Lightning in torture chamber 🥶

Nov. 28, 2022

You can always tell when Tage Thompson is on the ice. Not just because he stands at a towering 6-foot-6, but because the Buffalo Sabres center is usually pulling off some ridiculous stuff like this.

Thompson scored a career-high 47 goals this campaign, but we can't think of one that left us quite as gobsmacked as this early-season effort against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The number of sweet moves he was able to cram into this play borders on unnecessary. The puck just wouldn't stop following him around as he used his incredible reach to intercept the pass and dangle goaltender Brian Elliott within an inch of his life.

4. OK, Seeler, where'd this come from? 🤯

March 14, 2023

Who among us predicted that Nick Seeler would score one of the best goals of the season?

The 29-year-old Flyers defenseman (yes, that's right, he's a defenseman) has just seven goals through 225 career NHL games, and even if he quadruples that output, we doubt any goal will be as memorable as this one.

Seeler recovered the puck off a blocked shot and proceeded to put Golden Knights rearguard Shea Theodore in a blender, dancing around the defender in a way that would make Grace Kelly proud. For his finishing move, he sniped the puck past netminder Jonathan Quick. Stellar work, Seeler.

3. Marner stick-handling in a phone booth 📞

March 11, 2023

An exercise like this calls for some Mitch Marner magic, don't you think?

The creative Toronto Maple Leafs star dug deep into his bag of tricks for this goal against the Oilers. He picked up the pass from McLeod and was able to take full advantage of a surprised Stuart Skinner, faking out the rookie goaltender into another dimension.

The head-spinning sequence of dekes and spins happened in tight and ended in the most dramatic way possible, bonking off both posts and in. We've maybe grown accustomed to Marner's frequent displays of wizardry, but this one deserves a place on the podium of this list.

2. Zegras goes between the legs 🤹

March 7, 2023

It should never be a surprise whenever Trevor Zegras makes an appearance on these rankings. Few are as likely to provide a viral on-ice moment than the Anaheim Ducks phenom.

This time around, it wasn't a Michigan-style goal or assist that gave him a favorable position. Oh, no. This time, it was a dazzling between-the-legs goal that went up top past Seattle Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer, who didn't have a hope in hell of stopping Zegras' spectacular effort.

Interestingly enough, we were hard-pressed to choose between this goal and Zegras' between-the-legs assist that happened just over a week later. He's such a talent.

1. Athanasiou did the thing 🎵

Oct. 30, 2022

You won't find the Chicago Blackhawks at the top of many end-of-season lists (at least the positive ones), but Andreas Athanasiou has dragged his team onto at least one thanks to this stunner.

In what was just the Blackhawks' ninth game of the campaign, Athanasiou came up with the top play of the regular season. The forward received Patrick Kane's pass in the neutral zone with ease and essentially turned Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba inside out during a one-on-one battle.

Athanasiou capped it off by going top-shelf on future Hall of Fame goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury with his backhand. We're giving this one 10s across the board.