Auston Matthews has wasted no time making life interesting under Jim Hiller.
Through six games with the new coach, Matthews already has two four-point outings. He had just one across two seasons under Craig Berube.
That alone doesn’t settle anything, but it’s enough to make you look twice - especially with those big nights coming against Nashville and Colorado, not exactly soft touches. The early read is pretty straightforward: Hiller appears to be giving skilled players a little more freedom to operate, and Matthews may be reaping the benefit by reading the ice and trusting his instincts more often.
That doesn’t mean Berube’s approach was wrong. His game plan leaned hard into structure, toughness and a north-south identity, which has value of its own.
But the way a coach wants the puck moving can absolutely change how often a star center gets to touch it in dangerous areas. The sample size here is tiny, and there are other moving parts too - linemates, ice time, power-play usage.
So this is less a verdict than an early snapshot of what a different system can do.
Elsewhere, Edmonton keeps chugging along. The Oilers are 4-0-1 after a 3-1 win in San Jose, and they had to work for it.
Tristan Jarry made 19 saves on 20 shots to pick up his first win of the season, while Mattias Ekholm, Alex Formenton and Vasily Podkolzin supplied the goals. Babcock said the Sharks didn’t leave much room, forcing his team to grind for everything it got.
He also dropped a few hints about what could be coming next. Zach Hyman is on pace to return Tuesday, which would be a welcome boost up front.
And rookie Owen Michaels may have done enough to stick around a bit longer after winning 10 of 12 faceoffs. Babcock told his group they’re going to get “a whole lot better,” and with Hyman nearing a return, this unbeaten-in-regulation start could still be the opening chapter.
As for the Connor Hellebuyck-to-the-Rangers chatter, that one got shut down in a hurry.
With Igor Shesterkin out for the season, the rumor mill immediately started connecting New York to Hellebuyck. Elliotte Friedman isn’t buying it.
The salary cap math is ugly, for starters - the Rangers would be locking up roughly $20 million in two goalies for years. Winnipeg’s ask is another obstacle, since the Jets reportedly want a goalie plus players who can help them right away.
That’s a tough fit for a Rangers team described as the league’s youngest, with prospects and futures to offer.
So for now, New York is looking inward. Dylan Garand will carry the load with Spencer Martin called up while Joonas Korpisalo remains out for another four weeks.
Friedman expects patience to win out, and a short-term veteran feels more realistic than a splashy trade. If the Rangers go that route, Jonathan Quick is a name to keep in mind - even if it would mean the 40-year-old Director of Goaltending Development coming out of retirement if asked.
In Other News...
Oilers Unbeaten Start Faces Its Biggest Test With Goaltending Under Pressure
Edmontons unbeaten start has given the club a little early breathing room, but the schedule is about to ask for a lot more. Fresh off wins over the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks, the Oilers are the NHLs lone team without a regulation loss, a status that says as much about their resilience as it does about how quickly the season can turn once the games tighten up.
The next stretch is a real measuring stick, with a matchup against the Los Angeles Kings followed by a home-and-home series with the Utah Mammoth. As the games get tougher, the focus inside the room has turned to goaltending, where the Oilers know they will need cleaner stops if they want this fast start to mean something deeper than a nice opening run. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Suddenly Face A Tough Call On A Possible Flyers Deal
Philadelphias slow start has only added fuel to the trade chatter, and around the league it has naturally pushed the Flyers into the conversation as a possible source of help for Edmonton. The Oilers are always watching for ways to improve, but this is one of those situations where the idea is easier to float than to execute, especially with the club already having to account for the cap and the pieces it would take to make a move work.
For Edmonton, the appeal is obvious enough: a winger from a struggling roster can look like a fit on paper when a contender is looking for an upgrade. But the Oilers also have to balance urgency against timing, because roster decisions do not happen in a vacuum, and any serious trade discussion would have to clear more than one hurdle before it ever became real. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Hot Start Comes With One Risk Fans Cant Ignore
The early returns have been encouraging in Edmonton, where the Oilers have opened 4-0-1 and leaned hard on their best defensemen to get there. The top four is taking on a bigger workload than it did last season, with each regular logging more than 21 minutes a night, and that heavier deployment has helped stabilize a team that has looked sharp out of the gate.
Edmontons blue line, though, is also showing the kind of imbalance that can become harder to manage as the schedule wears on. The third pair is seeing far less ice time than it did a year ago, which helps explain how the top group is carrying so much of the load, but it also raises the question of how long that approach can hold up before fatigue becomes part of the story. [Read more 🡒]