It’s still early - just six or seven games into the NHL regular season - but that hasn’t stopped a few teams and players from forcing their way into the conversation. Some clubs are already matching the preseason buzz. Others are leaving people rubbing their eyes a little.
A handful of early trends stand out, and they start with Edmonton’s blue line.
Evan Bouchard has been one of the biggest reasons the Oilers are rolling along under new coach Mike Babcock. That was supposed to be the storyline in Edmonton: how Babcock would fit, and whether the change behind the bench would work.
Instead, Bouchard has turned into the early headline act. Through six games, he has six goals and 14 points, and his plus-14 rating is tied for the league lead.
Even more telling, 11 of those 14 points have come at even strength, a sign that the Oilers are driving play while he’s on the ice. Right now, he looks like the early favorite for the Norris Trophy.
Not every early surprise has been a good one. Dallas, for one, is off to a rough start that nobody saw coming.
The Stars are 2-3-1 after a home loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night, and they sit seventh in the Central Division. Jason Robertson has started to find his rhythm even with trade rumors still hanging around, and the roster is getting production from all over.
Still, the points haven’t followed. It has the feel of a team battling bad puck luck, but they’re too talented to stay buried for long.
Then there’s Elias Pettersson, whose start in Vancouver has looked a lot different from the scrutiny he’s faced in recent years. The trade rumors around him haven’t gone anywhere, but neither has his production: nine points in eight games.
What really stands out, though, is the edge he’s added. He’s skating with more tenacity, playing with more physicality, and even throwing his body around in clips that have already made the rounds.
For a Canucks team that is spunky but undermanned, that matters.
New York has been another early shock, though for a much more flattering reason. The Rangers are 6-2-0 and sit just one point behind the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, even after announcing Saturday that Igor Shesterkin is out for the season with an injury.
Shesterkin was a big part of their fast start, but Alexis Lafreniere and Adam Fox have stepped right in and kept the pace. Lafreniere is tied for second in the NHL with seven goals, while Fox has eight points in eight games.
What really jumps off the page is the depth: 14 Rangers already have at least two points. Without Shesterkin, that group effort is going to matter even more.
Seattle has also come out firing. The Kraken are 5-2-0 and fourth in the Western Conference, and their offense has been a major part of the story.
They’re tied for the second-most goals in the league, trailing only the Vegas Golden Knights. Jared McCann and Chandler Stephenson have opened hot, and Mackie Samoskevich has settled in nicely after signing an extension in July.
Nine Seattle players already have at least five points, and 16 have multiple points through seven games.
That’s the thing about this stage of the season: the sample is tiny, but the buzz is real. There are still as many as 79 games left for some teams, which means plenty can change. The challenge now is simple - who keeps this going, and whose fast start is still being talked about in February and March?
In Other News...
Rangers Bring Early Heat Back To MSG Against Tampa Bay
The Rangers are back at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday to face the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the building should again have the feel of a team that has started fast and fed off its home ice. New York is unbeaten in its four games at MSG so far, and the early numbers around the club have matched the eye test, with the Rangers sitting near the top of the league in a handful of key categories.
Alexis Lafrenire has been a big part of that surge, earning the NHLs Third Star of the Week after scoring in three straight games and giving New York another top-line threat to lean on. Tuesday also brings Hispanic Heritage Night to the Garden, with a pregame community program and a check presentation tied to the celebration, adding another layer to a matchup that already carries plenty of energy. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Are Backing Up Contender Talk With A Start Fans Will Love
The early chatter around the Rangers as a contender is getting louder for a reason. They have opened the season undefeated in their first five home games, a start the franchise has matched only twice before, and they are pairing that kind of home-ice surge with production and structure across the board. New York sits atop the league with six wins and has also shown up near the top in goals against, goals scored and penalty kill percentage, which is the sort of across-the-board profile teams usually need if they want to look the part in the spring.
There has also been no shortage of individual momentum helping fuel it. Alexis Lafrenire, Dylan Garand, Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox, Will Cuylle, J.T. Miller and Tye Kartye have all had notable stretches or milestones already, giving the roster a steady stream of contributors instead of leaning on one hot line or one standout night. Lafrenire, in particular, has become one of the most interesting pieces of that mix, and the way his scoring pace is building has added another layer to a team that is starting to feel like it may be backed by more than just a good first impression. [Read more 🡒]
Scott Morrow Is Stuck In A Rangers Roster Squeeze
Scott Morrow is still waiting for his first game of the season, and the logjam in front of him explains why. The Rangers have kept their blue line intact, with Sean Durzi and Braden Schneider both entrenched in the lineup, and there is little indication either one is headed for the press box anytime soon. For a club that has leaned on its defensive structure while searching for more consistency on the offensive side, Morrows profile still stands out as the kind of player who could help tilt the ice the other way.
The catch, of course, is that his game comes with questions on the defensive end, which makes the roster decision more complicated than simply finding an open spot. Unless the Rangers create room through an injury or a trade on the back end, Morrow may remain in a holding pattern while the group in front of him stays healthy and intact. For now, he is the lone skater on the roster without an appearance this season, which says as much about the teams depth chart as it does about his own place in it. [Read more 🡒]