This article is part of our From the Press Box series.
The serious shooting has begun, so let's look around at a number of storylines in the early days of a new NHL season. There are numerous injuries and some key roster shuffling that gives some unheralded names potential upward trajectories.
Off and Running
The Montreal Canadiens are 4-0 after a string of road games, three of which were against division rivals, sending a strong early message based on the same formula they used to start last year's wildly successful regular season. The formula remains the same, as Carey Price has won his three starts, turning aside 91 of 96 shots to earn these wins. Up front, newly minted captain Max Pacioretty, fully recovered from an offseason leg injury, has four goals and two assists. Right behind him, Alex Galchenyuk is looking like a breakout candidate, having tallied four points.
The Detroit Red Wings are similarly undefeated at 3-0 as they attempt to set an NHL record with their 25th straight playoff appearance. The key to Detroit's success was anticipated to revolve around the ability of relative newcomers to be contributors. Well, Dylan Larkin, only 19 years old, was not even expected to start with the big club, and yet he has four points already. Teemu Pulkkinen has graduated from the more usual path of Wings prospect development (through AHL Grand Rapids) and has sniped two goals. They join the likes of Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar, who were part of last season's near-seamless changing of the guard here, though it is notable that veteran Henrik Zetterberg has already notched seven points and is still one of the team's key leaders. Long-time starting netminder Jimmy Howard has been stellar in his two starts, allowing only one goal against – for the time being, he has a leg up on Petr Mrazek, who was strong in his own start.
Another of last season's top teams, the Predators, is bent on proving last season's success was no fluke – they're also 3-0 to begin the new season. Filip Forsberg enjoyed a breakout campaign last year and already has a pair of points in the early going. Defense is the story, though, as the Preds have only allowed a total of two goals. We know what to expect from their captain Shea Weber, but his partner, Roman Josi, shot to the top of the scoring race among all blueliners last year and already has a pair of special-teams goals in the books. Seth Jones is the third multi-skilled player on this rearguard, and he looks like he's becoming a more complete force with two points and a plus-4 rating. He could be a breakout candidate if these early returns are any indication.
The Minnesota Wild are out to prove that they are in the same camp as the Preds. This club has amassed an impressive core of veterans led by Zach Parise (four goals in the first two games) and Jason Pominville (two assists), but last year, they were improved by the development of top prospect Nino Niederreiter and the addition of veteran sniper Tomas Vanek. This season, defenseman Matt Dumba is projected to have a big impact, and he has started out by playing top-four minutes on this talented blue line. Last year's breakout star in goal, Devan Dubnyk, struggled in the first period of the season opener, but has locked things down since.
Over in the Pacific Division, the San Jose Sharks and Arizona Coyotes are making some unexpected early noise. The Sharks are another team that has benefited from a quick start by their veteran core. Let's give credit to Joe Thornton for leaving any off-ice acrimony with GM Doug Wilson behind him, as he has already banked three points and a plus-4 rating. New captain Joe Pavelski is on the same page, leading the attack with four points and a plus-4 as well. The big story here is in goal, where former Kings backup Martin Jones has recorded two shutouts in his three starts. Who saw that coming?
Over in the desert, it's all about the kids and their workhorse veteran goalie. The trio of Max Domi, Anthony Duclair and Tobias Rieder has been given an early opportunity to make a statement and earn a top-six role on offense. They have each responded very positively to give this club a real boost and some much-needed personality. The improved attack may mean a more manageable workload for Mike Smith, who still had to turn aside 67 of 69 shots to earn victories in his two starts.
Teams on the flip side
In contrast to those early success stories, the more compelling notes come from teams that have stumbled out of the blocks.
The Los Angeles Kings have established a disturbing trend as a slow-starting team in the past few seasons, and they have alarmed their fan base with a trio of home-ice losses to begin this season. The addition of burly power forward Milan Lucic was expected to further bolster a pack of similarly built big me who have led the way here for several years. There are some whispers that Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter and company have accumulated a lot of tough miles and may pay for that at some point. The opposite viewpoint is that this veteran squad knows how to deal with the grind of a long season and will be ready to peak at the right time.
The Boston Bruins are another 0-3 team this far, but there is already some real concern that they are what their record says they are. An aging Zdeno Chara has only played one game and may be unable to carry his normal huge load. In the absence of defensive depth behind him, aside from power-play specialist Torey Krug, this rearguard is nowhere near what Bruins fans have come to expect. That lack of blue-line depth has certainly exposed Tuukka Rask so far (4.72 GAA in three starts). At least sophomore sniper David Pastrnak (three points) looks like he is the real deal on offense so far.
In the Metropolitan Division, we knew that the Devils and Hurricanes would be poor teams, and hey, they're both 0-3. No surprise there. But they have company in Columbus and Pittsburgh, two teams own the same ugly record. The Blue Jackets' management was able to give last year's team a pass when the club was rocked by a horrendous list of injuries, but they have not seen a return to form now with a healthy roster to start this season. They have seen some good returns from new addition Brandon Saad, with a pair of goals already, and Ryan Johansen has three points, but their surprising lack of defensive awareness is best revealed in the ugly stat line held by goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (4.65 GAA – 12 goals against on 92 shots). This Columbus team is spending way too much time in its defensive zone. That's a disturbing and unexpected outcome so far.
The Penguins' addition of Phil Kessel was expected to add another lethal offensive piece, and he does have two points, but Sidney Crosby (no points) and Evgeni Malkin (one assist) have not done much. On the plus side, Kris Letang is healthy and playing a ton, averaging 27 minutes per game. That may not be sustainable, given his recent injury history, so that's a circumstance that bears watching.
Other notes from around the league
The Sabres' Jack Eichel has quickly shown his game-breaking ability with a pair of goals and some highlight-reel plays already, while Edmonton's Connor McDavid tipped a shot home to earn his first NHL goal in an otherwise quiet start to his pro career.
Over in Dallas, the Stars have shifted Tyler Seguin over to the wing and inserted Cody Eakin on that top line to play with him and Jamie Benn. That development will certainly elevate Eakin's fantasy value, so grab him if you can.
In Anaheim, you should be aware that Jiri Sekac has won the first try at the lucrative position of left wing alongside the dynamic duo of Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf.
Buffalo's high hopes for a resurgent season took a big early hit thanks to the leg injury that will keep Robin Lehner out for a couple of months; that goalie load now shifts to career backup Chad Johnson, which should keep the Sabres among the league's bottom-feeders for another year.
The Winnipeg Jets feature Mark Scheifele, who – as I noted in their team preview – is primed for a breakout campaign; he's already scored three goals. In addition, Alex Burmistrov has two points and a plus-4 next to his name after a two-year stint in the KHL. The goalie split (shared evenly through four games between Ondrej Pavelec and Michael Hutchinson) is also something to keep an eye on here.
That's all for this week, but for more hockey talk, check out my new podcast with RotoWire hockey editor Andrew Fiorentino, The Great Ones, available now on iTunes.
