In today's NHL and fantasy hockey circles, statistics reign supreme in terms of the best way to assess talent, analyze trends, and of course, understand betting angles. With the chase for the Stanley Cup crown only days from popping off, we felt it was the perfect time to take a look at some of the most influential numbers of the NHL season. These aren't your average digits, either. These are stats that hockey fans of any allegiance can appreciate as truly special.

Here are the top-10 statistics from the 2023-24 NHL campaign – some good, others, not so much.

10) 54

The New York Rangers are the best team in the NHL right now and not enough people are talking about it. Not only are the Rangers one of the most balanced and toughest teams to matchup against, they just set a franchise record for wins in a single season with an impressive 54 and counting. When a storied original six franchise like the Rangers sets a record for wins it warrants discussion, and deservedly takes the 10th spot on this list. More importantly, perhaps, is how New York's roster is shaping up for a big postseason push, as the Rangers most definitely have all the makings of a legit Cup threat – especially when netminder Igor Shesterkin is on his game.

9) 25.6

In today's run-and-gun NHL, teams across the league are loaded with snipers who regularly pepper goalies with pucks on a nightly basis. Thirty-or-more shots in a single game is commonplace, so when the Carolina Hurricanes run out a unit that allows a league-low 25.6 shots per game, hockey heads need to take note. Rod Brind'Amour and his staff deserve a lot of credit, but so does the D-men crew in Carolina that is definitely one of the most underrated groups in the entire NHL, one that will be a main reason why this team is poised for a proper run at Lord Stanley.

8) 9

When you start throwing out the names of such blue-line legends as Ray Bourque and Bobby Orr, whichever player mentioned next is going to be held in extremely high regard. Such should be the case with the season 24-year-old Quinn Hughes is putting up. The Vancouver Canucks rearguard wizard is not only leading all defensemen in scoring with 91 points, but he became only the third blue-liner in NHL history along with Bourque and Orr to record nine three-plus assist games in a single season. If Vancouver is going to be one of the last teams standing out west come June, expect Hughes to be the focal point of the Canucks' offensive attack.

7) 114

Hat tricks. Lots of them. For comparison’s sake, last year was one of the highest single-season outputs for hat tricks on record with 96 and we still have a few days of regular-season action to take in. The bottom line is we're seeing an embarrassment of riches this campaign in terms of elite-level goal scoring and special individual offensive performances, as 114 hat tricks (six of them from Toronto Maple Leafs talisman Auston Matthews) would clearly indicate.

6) -139

As we alluded to off the top, not all of these top-10 stats are pretty, some of the ugly numbers of the season deserve some attention, too. Especially when it comes to the historically bad goal differential of the San Jose Sharks, as the Sharks entered Monday's action against the Edmonton Oilers with an absolutely disgusting mark of -139 and climbing. In terms of all-time numbers, the worst goal differential in a single season in NHL history was the 1974-75 Washington Capitals with a crooked number of -265. In terms of this year's Sharks, their current differential of -139 would give them the 17th-worst of all time but with two games left, that number is sure to be even worse.

5) 18

No other player in NHL history has more 30-goal seasons than Washington Capitals' heartbeat Alex Ovechkin. Ovi started the season slower than ever, and if not for a red-hot second half, this season would have been a complete failure when it comes to the offensive potency we've come to expect from the best goal scorer to ever lace 'em up. With the eighteenth 30-goal season of his illustrious career, Ovechkin passed Mike Gartner for the most campaigns ever with thirty-plus tallies. It really is only a matter of time before he eclipses The Great One for most goals all time, as he currently sits 42 shy of Gretzky's 894, but for now, we can show him the love he deserves for yet another sensational milestone.

4) 69

Auston Matthews. 69 goals. You may have heard about it.

By now, we're running out of ways to describe how good 34 is. However, a lot of dedicated fantasy hockey GMs are likely getting tired of hearing about Matthews and the chase for 70, but that's just how special this season has been for the Maple Leafs talisman – it precipitates discussion and warrants attention. Matthews is looking to become the ninth player in the NHL record books with a 70-piece and he has games against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night and Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday to get it done. Say what you want to say about the Maple Leafs franchise, Matthews in the postseason, or his off-ice style, he's the most lethal shooter in the game today and is well on his way to being one of the top-five goal scorers of all time.

3) 1,000

Today's NHL is a young man's game: each passing season brings players with limited experience making indelible marks in the show. Teenagers like Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli and young rising superstars like Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes are the future of this league, so when you have nightly performances like the ones from 36-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby this season, his numbers are going to make this list. Especially when they're statistics like hitting the 1,000 assists mark. Realistically, Crosby has a slew of stellar stats that could have easily made this top 10, including moving into 10th in all-time scoring as well as registering his 19th consecutive point-per-game or better season, tying Gretzky for the most ever. When the stakes get high and pressure mounts, Crosby takes his game to the next level, making him one of the best clutch performers in the history of the sport. Assists, all-time points, consecutive point-per-game seasons, take your pick, Captain Canada is on this list.

2) 19 x 2

Much like Crosby, Matthews, and the two names to follow, we can't put together a collection of the season's best numbers without mentioning Nathan MacKinnon. MacK Daddy is the only player in NHL history to reel off two (!) 19-game point streaks in the same (!) campaign, nothing else really needs to be said. That's just straight up nasty. MacKinnon is putting together a Hart Trophy-worthy season of 51 goals and 87 assists and he's also been the best fantasy hockey player for most of the year. Top it off with the two 19-game point streaks and this is easily the best season of MacKinnon's Hall-of-Fame-caliber career.

1) 99 & 98

Mario Lemieux. Wayne Gretzky. Bobby Orr. That's it. The only three players to ever touch an NHL ice surface and post triple-digits in assists in a single season. So when two players are knocking on the doorstep of a mark like that, they both get some serious love. First off, Connor McDavid has missed the past three games with a lower-body injury and is currently stalled on 99 apples. If he doesn't get there it would actually be pretty rattling for a lot of Oilers and general hockey fans as a whole. Secondly, Tampa Bay Lightning star and current Art Ross favourite Nikita Kucherov was held pointless in his last game and is sitting on 98 assists. Even if these two staggering digits stay as is, they both still deserve the number one spot as the best numbers of the 2023-24 NHL season.