So far through almost 1 month of the season, the NHL so far has had its mix of perennial powerhouses and unpredictable upstarts. Lets see who has stood out so far.
Leading the way so far in the race for the Presidents Trophy is Le Canadiens. I’ll be honest when I saw them in the playoffs against the Flyers I thought that if their speed and skill across the board keeps up then they could take the next step as a Cup Contender. So far they haven’t felt the wrath of losing Max Domi to Columbus because Jeff Petry and Tyler Toffoli have had career years. Not to mention Josh Anderson has played up to his huge contract and Kotkaniemi isn’t far back. What else do they have? Oh right! Jake Allen is back in 2017 to form a 2 headed monster with Carey Price in net. Because that’s what the NHL needed, Montreal and Marc Bergevin being a Cup Contender. How do you lose to Ottawa at HOME by the way!
Their main challenger for not only the best record in hockey and in the Scotia Division just happens to be their rivals in the Maple Leafs. The 3 amigos of John Tavares, Auston Matthews, and Mitch Marner are once again leading the charge but the rest of their Top 6 and Freddie Andersen have turned back the clock as well. Morgan Reilly looks like the NHLs Steve Nash with his puck skills and is due for a nice payday this summer. How is this bad news for the rest of their division, it’s because other than their brutal loss against the Senators in the 1st Week of the season they look like the team they were hyped up to be this fall.
The East division has been the most competitive of the 4, leading the way right now are the Philadelphia Flyers. This was where I expected them to be, Leading a tight division with the emergence of several 3rd or 4th liners. Even though he has scored only 1 goal Claude Giroux is one of the league leaders in assists. That’s because of the mainstays in Travis Konecny, Jakob Voracek, JVR, as well Joel Farabee who scored a hat trick against the Islanders this past weekend. Despite starting 3-2-1 they have won 4 straight and look to be tough to beat the rest of the way if Carter Hart and Brian Elliott are brick walls in net. COUNT ON IT!
The Washington Capitals! No matter what you think of their long term situation they continue to find ways to win. As long as Ovechkin and Kuznetsov are in their primes and their power play continues to dominate everything in sight they must be taken seriously by the rest of the league. So far Peter Laviolette has lived up to expectations but despite a loaded division featuring the Flyers, Bruins, and those good old Penguins they need all of the advantages as possible. Time will tell with this story.
The Bruins as usual are off to a convincing start. Even if Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug are gone, Marchand and Bergeron are still around and still putting up points in bunches. One of the things they like to do a lot this season is beating the Flyers in overtime almost every time they play. (I’m very salty) Luckily Tuukka Rask is back and so far he has returned to his Vezina Trophy self. I think he will be forgiven if they win the Cup by the Boston Media. They should have let him be before the playoffs last year.
St Louis meanwhile has once again lived up to their high expectations. Even if Pietrangelo is gone Torey Krug has been solid and has been a boost for the defense. Jordan Binnington has shown why the Blues don’t need Jake Allen for insurance by rediscovering his 2019 playoff magic. If there is one thing that has been said about them since the Cup team a couple years ago they have been a freight train that hasn’t stopped yet. Time will tell with this story.
Well it appears that Jim Rutherford is finally retiring. In words of Pens fans and other Yinzers the sky is blue. Despite getting crunched on by their State rivals from the Phanatic Republic the Penguins have been up to their old tricks. Despite Tristan Jarry’s early struggles he has overcome those to allow himself to not be overwhelmed. Let’s be real even if Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are 33 and up they will continue to bully their foes especially the teams from the NYC area. Classic Penguins!
Out of all of the divisions the Central is the closest and most intriguing. Leading the way so far is Carolina. Sebastian Aho leads a scrappy group of media nerds who aren’t respected by the rest of the NHL due to their post game antics but when a team has plenty of fun usually it carries over to the ice. At this moment Dougie Hamilton has avoided the injury bug to return and lead the charge on the power play. Even James Reimer hasn’t been terrible. But their real stud has been Petr Mrazek, so far he is on pace for a .990 save percentage this year which would be the highest in franchise history. I wonder what the Hurricanes will do once the trade deadline comes.
Even if they have only played 7 games the Florida Panthers are the only team that has gotten at least 1 point for each game. So far Sergei Bobrovsky has reclaimed his status as one of the top goaltenders in the game despite giving up 6 goals against Nashville. The main reasoning for their success in the skater department are newcomers Patric Hornqvist and Carter Verhaeghe who have combined for 10+ goals this season. Let me guess Coach Q has turned back the clock to 2010 with this start. Well he has a team that has potential.
Vegas so far has been trying to figure out what has been wrong with their power play. Well in the words of Peter De’Boer “We’re just not connected as a group out there yet, But I believe it’s coming.” That includes Alex Pietrangelo, so far he has been ok but it feels like he really misses being with the Blues. Well at least they have Lehner and Marc Andrei Fleury in net being consistent as usual, plus William Karlsson and Shea Theodore are once again producing in bunches.
Last year’s Cup champions in the Lightning have been trying to overcome a shaky start that was similar to last year in terms of injuries. Losing Nikita Kucherov at the moment hasn’t hurt them but considering that they have won 6 of 8 to begin the season. At least Steven Stamkos is healthy once again and Vasilevskiy is still in his prime. Once again there are expectations but what they truly need is to overcome a hard fought division of opponents.
The Av’s look a bit out of the funk. Nathan MacKinnon has missed some time but at least the front line of Saad, Burakovsky, and Rantanen in their captains absence have been consistent. If there is one thing that could be Colorado’s achilles heel it is the goaltending. They have had to start 3 goalies so far because YES the injury bug. I thought these guys would take the next step.
BOOM! The Winnipeg Jets traded Patrick Laine to Columbus for Pierre Luc Dubois and a couple of other role players. In my opinion this move only happened because PLD wanted out of this college town of a Hockey team, and the True North didn’t want to pay Laine since he was in the final year of his contract. What this means is that even if the Blue Jackets didn’t get Taylor Hall this autumn they were able to get a big fish on the trade market. However, ever since Dubois has arrived in Winnipeg he has had the impact that the Jets need alongside a physical defense and Connor Hellebuyck who as usual is a brick wall of a goalie. The Jackets haven’t seen Laines potential but considering that the rest of the Central is within striking distance of the division lead it could work.
The Edmonton Oilers are the Atlanta Falcons of the NHL. A team that is popular for 3 players: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nuggent Hopkins. And like most years they literally have no depth or adequate goaltending. Their marque acquisition Kyle Turris has had a rough start, let me check 3 POINTS IN 12 GAMES! Well Mikko Koskinen isn’t helping either. In a division with a powerhouse in Toronto, a fast rising team in Montreal, and other teams like the Jets, Canucks, and Flames also in the mix it could be a long season for these guys.
We can’t deny that the beginning of this NHL season is looking like it could be a wild ride for all 4 divisions. With other teams like the Stars, Predators, Rangers, Islanders, Wild, and a Devils team trying to foolishly get in the playoffs this is about to be a roller coaster of a season. LET IT RIP BOYS!
Bragging Rights Sports 