Beck Malenstyn had a game to remember against his former team on Thursday.
The former Capitals forward and member of the Hershey Bears’ 2023 Calder Cup championship team registered a primary assist on the Buffalo Sabres’ only goal of the night. The highlight-reel apple saw Malenstyn send a no-look, backhanded pass to Sam Carrick at the doorstep, who then knocked the puck past Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren.
The goal gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead 6:02 into the first period, and gave Malenstyn 11 points (6g, 5a) in 65 games this season.
Later, with 7:55 remaining in the third period, Malenstyn set the NHL’s new all-time skating speed record. Malenstyn, wearing no. 29, made history on a chip and chase play where he reloaded behind Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and tried to win a foot race to beat out an icing in the offensive zone. Malenstyn was unable to complete the play but hit the top speed spot in the process.
Beck Malenstyn record-setting speed burst video
According to NHL EDGE stats, Malenstyn went 24.94 MPH, setting the fastest max skating speed in the tracking era since 2021-22 during the regular season or playoffs. Malenstyn jumped past Miles Wood, whose 24.82 MPH from last season held the top mark.
Connor McDavid has the second-fastest speed burst this season, going 24.61 mph in an October 8 game against the Calgary Flames. Per the NHL, McDavid owns the most speed bursts of 22-plus mph (118) and 20-plus mph (548).
Malenstyn owning the record is consistent with his NHL EDGE stats, which suggest he is one of the fastest players in the NHL. Beck owns fourteen 22 MPH-plus speed bursts this season (the league average is 3) and one hundred and fifty-seven 20-22 MPH speed bursts (the league average is 59.9), putting him in the 96th percentile of skaters in both statistics. In comparison, he’s a tad slower than Capitals’ speedster Ethen Frank.
The Capitals traded Malenstyn to the Sabres in the summer of 2024 after 105 NHL games with the team for a second-round pick. The Capitals used the selection to select top defense prospect Cole Hutson.
