1
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Jets
| Some, including myself, would argue that Nikolaj Ehlers has been criminally underutilized for much of his career. This season, Ehlers is really validating that opinion. Despite not seeing a huge uptick in ice-time, Ehlers has put up impressive totals with eight goals and nine assists in 13 games. Ehlers seizing every chance he gets and playing closer to his ceiling is key for the Jets’ hot start. | — | 12-1-0 |
2
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Rangers
| Filip Chytil has been terrific for the Rangers after missing most of last season due to injury. Not only does Chytil have eight points in 11 games, but New York is outscoring opponents 10-1 with him on the ice at five-on-five. Very few teams have a third-line center with those kinds of results. | 1 | 8-2-1 |
3
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Hurricanes
| Carolina is on a six-game winning streak, and it’s been riding excellent defense in the process. Throughout the life of this streak, the Hurricanes have allowed just 12 goals, and they’ve done it with Frederik Andersen on the shelf due to injury for most of it. Pyotr Kochetkov has been fine in relief, but Carolina’s shot and chance suppression has been excellent. That’s impressive given the blue line turnover in the offseason. | 4 | 9-2-0 |
4
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Wild
| It doesn’t seem like Brock Faber will be hitting any kind of sophomore slump. The Calder Trophy runner-up last season, Faber is making an early case for the 2025 Norris Trophy. The 22-year-old is dominating his minutes at five-on-five to the tune of a plus-9 goal differential and 56.0% expected goals share. | 2 | 8-2-2 |
5
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Panthers
| I know I’ve said this once already this season, but I must emphasize it again: Sam Reinhart is absolutely cooking this season. Reinhart has 10 goals in 13 games, and he’s on pace to surpass his 57-goal total from last season. Typically, I’m skeptical about signing a 28-year-old to an eight-year deal worth $69 million, but Reinhart looks wildly underpaid right now. | 5 | 9-3-1 |
6
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Golden Knights
| The Golden Knights might have a goaltending problem on their hands. Adin Hill, the presumed No. 1 for this team coming into the season, has a .874 save percentage while allowing 4.24 goals above average. Ilya Samsonov has been closer to the league average, but this position is somewhat of a question for the Golden Knights in the early going. | 1 | 8-3-1 |
7
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Capitals
| Alex Ovechkin went through a slump early last season, but that has not been a problem in the first 11 games. Ovechkin is already up to seven goals on the year, and that puts him on a 52-goal pace, which would be more than enough to surpass Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record by the end of the regular season. | 4 | 8-3-0 |
8
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Stars
| The Stars have cooled off a little bit, and one player who needs to get going is Wyatt Johnston. He’s found the back of the net just once this season, and Johnston has exactly one point in his last six games. Johnston had a breakout campaign last season with 32 goals and 65 points, and I expected a jump to legit stardom for him this year. The good news for Stars fans is that Johnston is shooting just 4.0%, which is 10.2 points lower than his career average. | 6 | 7-4-0 |
9
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Canucks
| Jake DeBrusk seems to be having a tough time adjusting to his new team. DeBrusk finally got his first goal of the season on Saturday, snapping a nine-game goal drought. The Canucks were hoping DeBrusk would solidify their forward group, but he has had a difficult time getting out of neutral. Elias Pettersson’s slow start is a bigger concern for Vancouver, but DeBrusk’s issues are troubling as well. | — | 6-2-3 |
10
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Kings
| I know I’ve said this once already this season, but I must emphasize it again: Sam Reinhart is absolutely cooking this season. Reinhart has 10 goals in 13 games, and he’s on pace to surpass his 57-goal total from last season. Typically, I’m skeptical about signing a 28-year-old to an eight-year deal worth $69 million, but Reinhart looks wildly underpaid right now. | 6 | 8-3-3 |
11
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Devils
| In his first season with the Devils, veteran winger Stefan Noesen has made quite the early impression. Noesen already has six goals and seven assists, and he is tracking well to surpass his career highs in both of those categories, which he set last year. I assume Noesen won’t shoot 27.3% for 82 games, but even if he does cool off, New Jersey will have found a quality depth forward. | 1 | 8-5-2 |
12
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Maple Leafs
| There has already been a public back-and-forth between William Nylander and Craig Berube about the former’s ice-time this season, and I’m inclined to agree with Nylander on this one. Not only does he lead Toronto in goals, but he also boasts sparkling five-on-five results. Seems like the kind of player you want to get on the ice as much as possible, but then again, I haven’t coached a team to a Stanley Cup (yet). | 1 | 7-5-2 |
13
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Lightning
| When it comes to NHL superstars, Brayden Point’s name doesn’t come up as often as others, but he is the driving force in Tampa. Point is off to a fantastic start this season with eight goals and five assists in 13 games, but he also has a five-on-five goal differential of plus-10. That’s a notable improvement over the minus-5 he posted in a poor analytical year for him last season. | 9 | 7-6-0 |
14
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Oilers
| Connor McDavid is out with an ankle injury, and Leon Draisaitl seems to have absorbed his power to become a Voltron of hockey skill. In the first two games without McDavid, Draisaitl notched three goals and three assists. That’s the benefit of having two mutants on the roster. If one of them goes down, the other one can put the team on his back. | 3 | 6-6-1 |
15
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Avalanche
| Colorado has been decimated by injuries early on, but Nathan MacKinnon has been doing everything he can to keep the team on track. He has 25 points in 13 games, and he’s recorded at least one point in every game this season. Still, the Avs’ lack of depth is showing now. As the injuries pile up, they get even more top-heavy, and opponents can eat when the big guns are on the bench. | 7 | 6-7-0 |
16
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Senators
| The Senators have gotten improved goaltending lately, but it hasn’t necessarily come from Linus Ullmark. Instead, Anton Forsberg has really turned it on. Forsberg now boasts a .910 save percentage with 1.73 goals saved above average, which is great considering he allowed three goals on nine shots in his first start of the season. Should he be getting more work in the near future? | 1 | 6-6-0 |
17
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Flames
| Calgary has cooled off considerably since its incendiary start, and the goals have really dried up over the last couple of weeks. Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri have combined for three points in the last six games, and the Flames have averaged 2.0 goals per game in that span. The Flames simply lack the necessary firepower to hang with most teams in the West. | 1 | 7-5-1 |
18
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Hockey Club
| Somehow, Nick Schmaltz has yet to score a goal this season, and that’s making life tough on Utah. Schmaltz has eclipsed the 20-goal mark in each of the last three seasons, but he has struggled to get things going this season. Schmaltz has never really been a volume shooter, but maybe he needs to throw a few more pucks on net just to get the first one to go. | 4 | 5-5-3 |
19
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Red Wings
| Vladimir Tarasenko is struggling to find his footing in Detroit. He has just three points on the season, and he hasn’t scored in five games. Beyond that, his five-on-five impacts have been abysmal. The Wings control just 41.5% of the expected goals with him on the ice at five-on-five, which is less than ideal for a middle-six forward. | 2 | 5-5-1 |
20
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Bruins
| The Bruins’ last three games — and four of the last five — have ended in shutouts one way or another. They’re 2-2 in those games, so I don’t know what that says about them as a team besides it’s not the most exciting brand of hockey in the world. Also, it’s probably not good that Jim Montgomery is calling out David Pastrnak already. | 2 | 6-7-1 |
21
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Blues
| Jordan Kyrou needs some help on offense, and it may need to come from Brayden Schenn. The question is whether he still has another level to his game. Schenn took a step back in 2023-24, and now he has one goal and four points in 12 games. It looks like Schenn has hit a sharp decline, and he still has three years left on his deal at $6.5 million per season. | 4 | 7-6-0 |
22
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Penguins
| Blowing a two-goal third-period lead to the offensively-challenged Islanders is “nasty work,” as the kids say. That’s what the Penguins did on Tuesday, and it’s another ugly loss for them in the early going. One player who has been particularly bad is Kris Letang, who is getting crushed at five-on-five while failing to produce offensively. | 7 | 5-7-2 |
23
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Predators
| Last season, the Predators were fifth in the NHL in expected goals generated at five-on-five. Now, after notable roster upgrades in the offseason, they rank 23rd in that same category. It’s fair to assume that a team with some new pieces would take time to gel, but they’re now 12 games in, and generating offense has been tough sledding nearly every night. | 4 | 4-7-1 |
24
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Kraken
| The Kraken have now lost four straight games, and Jordan Eberle hasn’t scored in six straight games. Matty Beniers is also riding a six-game goal drought. Chandler Stephenson’s drought has hit eight games. You may be sensing a pattern. Too many players Seattle relies on to create offense have gone ice cold over the last couple of weeks. | 4 | 5-8-1 |
25
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Islanders
| Mat Barzal has been placed on long-term injured reserve, and one of the worst offensive teams in the NHL will have to pick up some wins without its best player for the next month. The Isles did mount a multi-goal comeback against the Penguins on Tuesday, so maybe that will provide a scoring spark for this group. | 2 | 5-6-2 |
26
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Blue Jackets
| The Blue Jackets are still counting on Cole Sillinger to be a key part of the franchise long-term, but he is off to another troubling start. He does have eight points in 11 games, but just two of those are goals, and his five-on-five numbers are very concerning. With Sillinger on the ice at five-on-five, Columbus has controlled just 37.3% of the expected goals. | 2 | 5-5-2 |
27
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Sabres
| Devon Levi was thrust into the spotlight too quickly at the start of last season, but there was some hope that the offseason would help the young goaltender reset and come back stronger. So far, that doesn’t appear to be the case. Levi has gotten four starts and posted a .878 save percentage while allowing 2.51 goals above average. | 4 | 5-7-1 |
28
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Blackhawks
| Ryan Donato has been a very pleasant surprise for Chicago so far. He has a whopping seven goals in 11 games, which is almost half of his career high at 16. Donato is shooting over 30%, but positives aren’t always easy to find for this team outside of No. 98, so it’s good to see a journeyman like Donato enjoying some success. | 2 | 5-7-1 |
29
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Ducks
| This is supposed to be a big season for Trevor Zegras, but he has been unable to get in a groove thus far. Zegras has just one goal and two assists, and he hasn’t scored since the season-opener. That means he’s riding an 11-game goal drought, and he has a minus-7 goal differential at five-on-five. You have to wonder whether he finishes the season in Anaheim. | 3 | 4-6-2 |
30
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Canadiens
| It’s hard to find a team more porous defensively than the Canadiens. Montreal is allowing 3.66 xGA/60 at five-on-five, which is far and away the worst number in the league. Martin St. Louis seems to be a good influence on the young offensive players, but he has to find a way to get them to play some semblance of defense. | 2 | 4-7-2 |
31
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Flyers
| Speaking of defense, one of the biggest factors in Philadelphia’s surprising 2023-24 campaign was stingy team defense. The Flyers were one of the best teams in the league at limiting expected goals against, but that has changed this year. Philadelphia ranks 26th in xGA/60 at five-on-five, and that won’t get the job done given the lack of scoring and goaltending on the roster. | — | 4-8-1 |
32
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Sharks
| Will Smith, the other highly-touted rookie in San Jose, scored his first two NHL goals last week. Smith and Macklin Celebrini could become one of the best one-two punches down the middle in the NHL. There’s still a long way to go before they get there, but that duo gives Sharks fans legitimate reason to be thrilled about the future. | — | 4-8-2 |
