Facts and Figures: Offense showing no signs of slowing down

The increased offense that has marked the first two months of the 2017-18 season shows no signs of abating in December.
After there were 1,219 goals scored in November, the most in that month since 2005 (1,236), there were 121 goals in the first 20 games of December. That included the second 10-goal game by a team this season (
the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Detroit Red Wings 10-1
), matching the total of double-figure games for all of 2016-17. Prior to that, teams had scored 10 or more goals three times in the previous eight seasons.

It was one of three games in the first two days of the month that featured a combined total of 11 goals. But the highest-scoring game was
the Calgary Flames' 7-5 win against the Edmonton Oilers
on Saturday. The combined 12 goals were the most in a game between the Alberta rivals since Feb. 25, 1990, when the Flames won 10-4.

Delayed payback

It's fair to say that there were more than a few fans at Bell Centre on Saturday who attended the game between the Canadiens and the Red Wings at the Forum exactly 22 years earlier.
For those fans, the Canadiens' 10-1 victory against the Red Wings might have been some long-awaited payback.
On Dec. 2, 1995, the Red Wings came to Montreal and left with an 11-1 victory; the 10-goal loss matched the largest margin of defeat in Canadiens history. Detroit scored five goals in each of the first two periods of what turned out to be Patrick Roy's last game in a Montreal uniform.
All the more reason for Montreal fans to savor the worst loss by the Red Wings since the Canadiens defeated them 10-1 at the Forum on Nov. 30, 1986.

Flyers can't finish

The good news for the Philadelphia Flyers is that they've gotten one point in five of the 10 games during a losing streak that reached double figures with
a 3-0 loss to the Boston Bruins
on Saturday. The bad news is that they let a lot of points get away.
The Flyers led by two goals in four of the five games where they had to settle for one point. That includes back-to-back overtime losses to the New York Islanders (
Nov. 24
) and Pittsburgh Penguins (
Nov. 27
), when they had a two-goal lead entering the third period.
The five regulation losses were a different story. The Flyers scored a combined total of three goals in those games and were shut out three times.

Hitting the road

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be spending a lot of time on the road for the rest of 2017.
The Maple Leafs began December with
a 2-1 loss at the Vancouver Canucks
on Saturday. It was the first of 10 road games this month for Toronto, which plays three games at Air Canada Centre. Add in their last two games of November (road games at Calgary and Edmonton) and the Maple Leafs are in a stretch through the end of 2017 that will see them play 12 of 15 games away from home.
The Maple Leafs aren't the only team that will do some heavy traveling this month. The Canadiens play their first five games of December at home, then finish the month with a seven-game road trip. The Carolina Hurricanes begin a six-game western trip on Tuesday as part of a stretch that will see them play eight of their first 12 December games on the road. The Anaheim Ducks have two six-game trips in the last four weeks before the Christmas break, finishing with five games in eight days against Metropolitan Division teams.

In contrast, the Canucks' win against the Maple Leafs was the first of their 10 home games this month; they have three on the road. The Tampa Bay Lightning play eight of 12 at home this month and the Pittsburgh Penguins began a stretch when they play eight of 11 at home by defeating the Buffalo Sabres 5-1 on Saturday. The Vegas Golden Knights, who've played 12 of their past 16 games on the road, play seven of their nine games before the Christmas break at home, beginning Sunday against the Arizona Coyotes (8 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, FS-A, NHL.TV).