Tuesday night is a busy one in the NHL, with all 32 teams playing in staggered starts so that you hopefully can catch a glimpse of what is happening everywhere so far.
We're about 8-10 games into the season for most teams, which is still too early to draw hard conclusions, but we are getting to an area where we're understanding what the struggles or positives might be.
Next weekend is the first important date, as being within four points of a playoff spot after games played on Nov. 1 has proven to be an important marker. From there, the quarter mark of the season around American Thanksgiving is the next big benchmark, and where the trade market really begins to take shape.
So, yeah, it's early, but…
…with every team in action in the Frozen Frenzy, we're giving a little context on how each team has looked so far, and ordering them by their place in the league standings.
It's early, but…this might be their season. The Devils haven't lost since opening night and are 6-1 against playoff teams from last season. At 5-on-5, they are within the top 10 in goals after finishing 25th there last season, and their power play is as strong as ever — sixth in the league at a 30 per cent success rate. Dawson Mercer is running just shy of a point per game pace and Arseny Gritsyuk is their great come-out-of-nowhere story, now on the second line. Jake Allen is making a case for more starts when No. 1 Jacob Markstrom does return.
It's early, but…this might be the season Mammoth management has to buy in the trade market. They're in the top three in shots for percentage at 5-on-5 and top 10 in expected goals percentage. They have two forward lines that are equally sharing the scoring threat, and Nick Schmaltz is the NHL's unlikely scoring leader. They do give up more high-danger chances than they get, though, but Karel Vejmelka still has a .905 save percentage and is sixth in cumulative GSAE. Utah and New Jersey are tied atop the league in goal differential.
It's early, but…they're the only team with at least 10 games played who've lost just once in regulation. The top line of Nathan MacKinnon between Artturi Lehkonen and Martin Necas may be the best trio in the league — 28 NHL lines have played at least 60 minutes together; Colorado's top unit is fourth in expected goals percentage and all of them are scoring at better than a point per game pace. But the question with this team comes back to depth, and if they have enough to hang with the rest of the league's best. The top line plus Cale Makar has scored a combined 20 goals. The rest of the roster has 13, five of which have come off Valeri Nichushkin's stick. Major stick tap to Scott Wedgewood, who has helped the Avalanche to the league's second-best GAA despite the fact that their starter, MacKenzie Blackwood, hasn't played a game yet.
It's early, but…are they seriously ready to step forward as the Atlantic's best team? Cole Caufield is looking like at least a 40-goal scorer this season, with seven in 10 games, and Ivan Demidov looks like a superstar in the making. The Noah Dobson-Mike Matheson pairing is among the league's best in expected goals percentage, and Lane Hutson is tied for second behind Cale Makar in scoring by defencemen. Jakub Dobes is off to a heck of a start in net.
It's early, but…the Penguins have been competitive and may not be the trade sellers we projected them to be. Evgeni Malkin leads the team with 16 points in 10 games, finding the fountain of youth and bringing out the best in Justin Brazeau, who is already halfway to his career-best offensive totals. Sidney Crosby has 14 points, and Pittsburgh's power play is second-best in the league. Most importantly, both goalies — Tristan Jarry and Arturs Silovs — have been much better than projected and are 11th and 13th in GSAE.
It's early, but…Jack Eichel is looking like an MVP candidate, and while he's a central piece of their incredible power play, Eichel is among the league leaders in even-strength goals. Forty-nine forward lines have played at least 50 minutes together in the NHL this season, and the Pavel Dorofeyev-Mitch Marner-Tomas Hertl trio has the best expected goals percentage. Neither of the goalies has even a .900 save percentage yet, though, as Akira Schmid and Adin Hill both have a negative Goals Saved Above Expected.
It's early, but…while the Canes have the second-best points percentage in the East, have they shown to have the game-breaking ability necessary to pull through in the playoffs? They are top three in 5-on-5 goals and expected goals, and Seth Jarvis is doing his best to lock in a spot on Team Canada, but there are concerns. Nikolaj Ehlers, who was acquired to be that difference-maker, has no goals and three assists. Andrei Svechnikov doesn't have a point yet. The Canes as a whole have the league's worst power play, converting on 6.9 per cent of their chances. The goaltending has some work to do, 18th in 5-on-5 save percentage, as Brandon Bussi has been their best so far. We will give them a little time, however, considering Pyotr Kochetkov hasn't played a game yet and because the team has played six of its first eight games on the road.
It's early, but…anyone who doubted the Jets should be worried about their decision. Winnipeg is a top 10 team in the league despite being without Cole Perfetti, Adam Lowry and Dylan Samberg. That's got to be a positive thing. Connor Hellebuyck is who we'd expect, third in GSAE and among the league leaders with a .928 save percentage and 2.16 GAA. They have the eighth-best power play and the third-best penalty kill. But we should note: the Jets are dead last in 5-on-5 shots percentage and expected goals percentage.
It's early, but…last season's surprise performance may have some staying power. The Capitals are top two and three in a couple of major 5-on-5 measures: Corsi for percentage and expected goals percentage. The goals themselves have room to come in quicker — the Caps are 24th in shooting percentage at 5-on-5 — and their power play has some room to grow. Both goalies have been excellent and the Caps are fourth in team save percentage. Put it all together and this seems like a team that is more than just a one-year wonder.
It's early, but…the Yzerplan is showing signs of life. Detroit needed some of its younger players to step into the lineup and contribute to the team turning the corner, and as unlikely as that may have seemed, given how they fell back last season, the early results are promising. Emmitt Finnie, a seventh-rounder from just three drafts ago, is second in team scoring. Defenceman Axel-Sandin Pellikka is averaging nearly 20 minutes a game and being used in all situations. They've beaten Tampa, they've beaten Toronto, and they've beaten Florida. They didn't let back-to-back losses last week spiral, and rebounded to win on Saturday. We have to raise an eyebrow: is the Yzerplan finally coming together?
It's early, but…they look closer to the playoff team from three years ago than the declining ones from the past two. Not to say they are looking like a challenging team overall. In fact, the Kraken are fairly Even-Steven. This team scores as much as it gives up and their power play is 19th. On a recently concluded road trip they went 2-2-2. Tied for fourth in the West by points percentage right now, there are still concerns — the Kraken are 29th in expected goals percentage at 5-on-5 and 25th in shots for percentage. But Joey Daccord is starting strong, and the Kraken are among the top six teams in preventing high-danger looks.
It's early, but…Dallas' depth has been tested with several early-season injuries to its forward group. And yet they still have four players averaging at least a point per game. Jake Oettinger has been just average, and the Stars as a whole have been streaky, with a season-opening three-game winning streak, followed by a four-game losing skid, and then winning both games over this past weekend.
It's early, but…Adrian Kempe's price is getting higher and higher, and there's no coming back down. He's their scoring leader by far, with 13 points in 10 games. They've already been called “boring” by Connor Bedard when the Kings turned on the defence to close out that game on Sunday, but this team isn't as stingy as they've been in the past, sitting 14th in shots against per game. There have been 103 defence pairs who have played at least 40 minutes together so far, and the Cody Ceci-Brian Dumoulin combination ranks 99th in expected goals for percentage. Mercifully, they've been broken up. It took Los Angeles 10 games to get its first regulation win, and there are signs they're perhaps not as strong as before.
It's early, but…Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar might be levelling this team up and out of the bottom of the league's basement. Much has been made of Bedard's increased speed and the offensive production has improved so far as well. Maybe it's his off-season training, or maybe it's the fact that he has a dangerous centre playing behind him in the lineup, forcing opponents to finally think about someone else on the roster. Nazar is the team's scoring leader. They have things to work on still, middle of the league in goals per game and bottom-third in power-play percentage, but goaltending can patch over a lot of those imperfections, and Spencer Knight is delivering. Among the league leaders in GAA, GSAE and SV%, he's showing why, at one point, the Panthers had him pencilled in as their goalie of the future.
It's early, but…the players who had to be elevated in the lineup due to injuries have shone. Brad Marchand leads the team in scoring, Anton Lundell is second, and Mackie Samoskevich has six points in 10 games. The offence went bone dry through a four-game losing skid, which would be the concern in the long term. Can more guys step up? Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe have been slow to get going, and while Sam Reinhart has four goals, he's only managed one assist. Florida's underlying numbers are still strong, though, and they've been money at home.
It's early, but…the Canucks are showing some resiliency, which fans hope translates into playoff staying power. They won Sunday without Quinn Hughes, and their centre/forward depth has been put to the test with Filip Chytil out. Thatcher Demko has been lights out, inspiring plenty of confidence so far that he can lead the way to a bounce-back season. Elias Pettersson started bumpy, but now has six points in his past five games. Their special teams have to get better, though, sitting 22nd in PP% and 24th in PK%.
It's early, but…Connor McDavid doesn't look like he's going to suddenly have a Rocket Richard season again, with just one goal in 10 games — though we recognize that statement could be made to look silly with one good week. The team as a whole isn't scoring as much as we're used to (18th in goals per game), though the power play is still top-five dangerous. Evan Bouchard hasn't scored a goal yet and has just two points, which isn't doing him any favours in his bid for a spot on Team Canada. The goaltending has at times been a talking point already, but Stuart Skinner is not to blame for this year's slow start. And, really, it's hard to get too reactive to an average 4-4-2 launch (with very average underlying numbers at 5-on-5, too) because an early-season malaise has been a characteristic of this group for a few years now.
It's early, but…there is no sign that last year's implosion was a one-off. The Preds are once again struggling to find offence, sitting 30th in the league in goals per game and 31st on the power play. Steven Stamkos has a single goal so far. The good news? Juuse Saros is showing signs of a bounce back after two down seasons. He's ninth in the league in Goals Saved Above Expected and could use some help from the team in front of him — the Preds are 26th in expected goals against.
It's early, but…Matthew Schaefer is basically Bobby Orr. We kid, but on a recent broadcast, Mark Messier said the Calder Trophy favourite reminded him a lot of the way Scott Niedermayer used to play. The Islanders do have the league's highest 5-on-5 shooting percentage, which is destined to come down, and while it is true that Ilya Sorokin has had a disappointing start to the season, no team has given up more high-danger looks than the Islanders.
It's early, but…Joel Quenneville has this team playing at a higher, much more offensive tempo than before. The Ducks have the seventh-best offence after finishing 30th a year ago, are third in average shots per game and fifth in expected goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, all year-over-year improvements. But this has come at a defensive cost, as the Ducks are last in 5-on-5 expected goals against per 60 minutes.
It's early, but…the Trevor Zegras reclamation project is sure looking promising. Starting at centre then moving to the wing, Zegras is tied for the team lead in scoring. And how about Dan Vladar? He hasn't allowed more than two goals in a game yet and has a .932 save percentage. While he deserves that nod, the Flyers' team defence deserves one as well — they are first in expected goals against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5.
It's early, but…the Sabres have shown some fight, haven't they? A three-game losing streak to begin the season started the fires early, but they were quickly put out with recent wins over division rivals Ottawa, Florida, Detroit and Toronto. There's been physical pushback. Josh Doan, one of the players acquired in the JJ Peterka trade, has quickly become a productive fan favourite, and Zach Benson, with six points in seven games, is setting the table for a breakout season. Best of all has been Alex Lyon, who has stabilized the crease while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was out, with a .922 save percentage.
It's early, but…one of their biggest areas of weakness last season, 5-on-5 scoring, is much-improved as they sit 12th in the league. But the penalty kill is the problem now, where the team sits 30th. And when do we really start to become concerned about Linus Ullmark and the goaltending? Ullmark has strung together two good starts in a row, but still has an .870 save percentage on the season and is 59th (out of 68 goalies) in GSAE.
It's early, but…the vibes aren't great, are they? If not for the Blue Jays being in the World Series and providing cover for the Maple Leafs, the heat would be a little more turned up than it is now. The first line is still looking to find a solid, stable connection of players, the goaltending has been a step or two below last season as Anthony Stolarz has had to assume a much heavier workload, and now injuries have further tested their depth. This is supposed to be the easiest part of Toronto's schedule, with not many playoff opponents, but they've only putt along at .500.
It's early, but…it has to be positive how well the Blue Jackets have started on the road. A major sore spot for years — including going 14-23-4 away from home last season — Columbus is 3-1-0 to start in 2025-26 and will need to keep that up to make the playoffs. Their 1-3-0 start at home isn't wonderful, but there are plenty of reasons to believe it will improve. The Blue Jackets lead the league with a .939 team save percentage at 5-on-5 as both Elvis Merzlikins and Jet Greaves are around the league leaders in GSAE. The Dmitri Voronkov-Kirill Marchenko connection on the top line is as electric as ever.
It's early, but…is it time to wonder if their Stanley Cup window is closing, or closed? Two wins over the weekend certainly make them look better in a nine-game start, but prior to that, the Lightning had dropped six of seven, and a number of their best players — Andrei Vasilevskiy, Brandon Hagel, Brayden Point — were rather pedestrian. Their minus-4 goal differential is second-worst in the East, granted, that whole conference is unbelievably tight.
It's early, but…they're not yet struggling to score as much as we thought they would. Boston is 12th in goals per game and power-play percentage, while Morgan Geekie is second in the league in even-strength scoring. We should caution, however, that as a team, the Bruins are 21st by expected goals at 5-on-5. We should also caution that Joonas Korpisalo has allowed 16 goals in four games and that Jeremy Swayman, after two good starts to begin the season, has allowed 22 goals in his past five games. He's not yet shown that he's confidently going to bounce all the way back from last year's down season. So, as surprising as Boston's offence has been, this supposedly defence-first team is still allowing more than it's scored and has the worst goal differential in the East.
It's early, but…the offence is a major problem here, isn't it? The Rangers are 31st in goals per game and 24th in power play percentage. At home, they have managed just six goals in five games. The only player who had been pulling his weight to start was goalie Igor Shesterkin, but even he put up a couple stinkers in a row against San Jose and Calgary in lopsided losses. If you want a silver lining it's this: the Rangers are the best at limiting high-danger chances against and have the league's second-lowest shooting percentage. That's bound to recover…right?
It's early, but…the Wild are getting a little close to falling too far behind. That may be crazy to say just 10 games in, but consider that their offence is 27th in the league, their defence is 30th, they have a minus-11 goal differential that is 28th in the NHL, and no team has been playing from behind after the first and second periods more often. An important date arrives this weekend with Nov. 1; only 10 of 74 teams in the cap era that were four or more points out of the playoffs after games played on that date came back to qualify. The Wild play Winnipeg, Pittsburgh and Vancouver before Nov. 1 is over and are currently two points back.
It's early, but…it's looking alarmingly ugly. Just in their past three games, they fell behind Utah 4-0 in the first period, blew a four-goal lead over Detroit, and fell behind Pittsburgh by two goals less than a minute into the first period. Jordan Binnington's GSAE is one of the worst in the league and backup Joel Hofer's save percentage is under .800. Only the Sharks have a worse goals-against average.
It's early, but…Macklin Celebrini looks like he belongs on Team Canada, and that'll probably be the team's best story of the season. Celebrini is fourth in league scoring, one off a tie for the lead, and should be in consideration for the Olympics…and in more than just an “extra” roster spot. There are other bright spots in William Eklund and Will Smith, but most of the outlook is bleak. Yaroslav Askarov, once viewed as a slam-dunk goalie of the future, has just not delivered in the NHL yet. Sharks owner Hasso Plattner may not want Gavin McKenna, but his team is on a crash course with the draft lottery again.
It's early, but…GM Craig Conroy needs to start thinking long and hard about tearing this thing down. Rasmus Andersson's name has been in rumours for months, Nazem Kadri doesn't have full no-trade protection anymore, and perhaps that should be just the start. What about MacKenzie Weegar? The considerations should run deep. The Flames have never had a top-three draft pick in team history, but this should be the year.
