A quick glance at the NHL standings and one might think they’re upside down—particularly in the western conference.
Sure it’s still early, but who doesn’t love a good plot twist? Sports fans always fall in love with the teams that come out of nowhere—from Cinderella stories in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament to BCS busters. Anyone outside of Pittsburgh wanted to see the Arizona Cardinals hold the Lombardi Trophy after last year’s Super Bowl.
Of the early teams making many do a double take at their record which are for real and which are merely hot at the wrong time?
The only team in their correct place in the eastern conference’s Northeast Division is the Toronto Maple Leafs, but with only 1 point in 7 games and still in search of their first victory even this level of futility was unimaginable.
Meanwhile, the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators have turned the tables on the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens in the early going. But how are they doing it and will it last?
BUFFALO SABRES: 5-1-1 (11 points)
So far, the Sabres are getting contributions form all the right players and their balanced attack has been a nightmare for opposing teams. Left-winger Thomas Vanek’s 4 goals and center Derek Roy’s 6 assists aren’t surprising but the early performance of center Tim Connolly (6 points), left wing Clarke MacArthur (4 goals) and right wing Jason Pominville (5 points) is.
Most important to their early success has been goalie Ryan Miller (5-0, 1.66 goals against average, .942 save percentage). Miller has the talent to put the team on his shoulders but at some point his numbers will come back down to earth. When they do, can the offense keep scoring like it has? Any sustained success and playoff run will rely on Miller putting up career-best numbers.
Staying power? Vanek is the only elite scorer on this team and he already had an injury scare. With Connolly’s injury history and too many question marks throughout the rest of the roster it feels like this team is hanging by a thread. All it will take is for one long injury to bury the Sabres. VERDICT: No Playoffs
OTTAWA SENATORS: 5-2-1 (11 points)
The off-season trade of left-winger Dany Heatley was supposed to doom the Senators, but so far it looks like a case of addition by subtraction. With Daniel Alfredsson (11 points) and Jason Spezza (7 points), there is still plenty of offense. Left-winter Milan Michalek (5 goals) is off to a nice start and center Mike Fisher seems to have rediscovered his playmaking ability. They’re off to a hot start with zero goals combined from Spezza and former 50-goal scorer Jonathan Cheechoo.
However, behind Anton Volchenkov, Ottawa remains incredibly thin on the blue line and many of their mistakes have been covered up by goalie Pascal Leclaire. But a goalie can’t be expected to carry the load each and every night and Leclaire’s numbers took a big hit after allowing 6 goals in an overtime loss to the offensively challenged Nashville Predators Thursday night.
Staying power? New head coach Cory Clouston has done a fantastic job so far, especially with two of his top forwards still looking to light the lamp for the first time. If Leclaire plays up to his ability they’ll hang around all season. VERDICT: Like doing late holiday shopping, they’ll be in it until the end but come up without the gift of the playoffs.
Fans of the Phoenix Coyotes must think they’re suffering from heat stroke. Tops on the list for relocation, the Yotes are ignoring the off-ice issues and doing plenty of winning early on.
PHOENIX COYOTES: 6-2-0 (12 points)
This is easily the biggest surprise in the league thus far, not even stats can explain it. Nobody has more than 3 goals and two of their top three scorers are defensemen (Adrian Aucoin with 6 points and Ed Jovanovski with 5).
Much like Miller in Buffalo, goalie Ilya Bryzgalov
(6-1, 1.26 gaa, .949 save percentage) would be a strong Vezina contender if the award were handed out in November. Bryzgalov will be the netminder for this franchise—wherever home is—for many years to come, but he’ll obviously fall off somewhat from his amazing start.
Staying power? They’re still not scoring and lack the talent to help Bryzgalov when the puck stops looking like a tire off a semi truck. VERDICT: Late October brings cold outside of Arizona and there’s no delusion here, the Yotes will still finish near the bottom of the west.
COLORADO AVALANCHE: 6-1-2 (14 points)
This isn’t your older brother’s Avalanche anymore, but the misconception is they stopped building after Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Sandis Ozolinsh left. The reality is injuries stunted the growth of young star Paul Stastny while Marek Svatos, Wojtek Wolski and John-Michael Liles have been slow to develop.
Defenseman Kyle Quincey’s team-leading 8 points have been a huge boost and veteran right winger Milan Hejduk is still a top sniper. The talent is in place to succeed, if each player can meet the high expectations they once had.
The goaltender was a main position of weakness the last few seasons and so far it has been solidified by free agent acquisition Craig Anderson (6-1, 2.06 gaa, .934 save percentage). Once a high-level prospect, it took Anderson a long time before earning a starting job, but he’s finally performing at a high level and showing the ability to be a workhorse between the pipes.
Staying power? Health and growth are essential to any young team to find success. If Stastny stays healthy and their young talent matures, they will be headed back in the right direction VERDICT: Many continue to love the Avs based on their run of success years ago—kind of like Jennifer Aniston. And much like Aniston’s relationships, it’s hard to see this being successful in the long haul.
LOS ANGELES KINGS: 6-4-0 (12 points)
Unlike every other team on this list, the Kings aren’t shocking the hockey universe because of an incredibly hot goaltender. They have plenty of talent at every other spot on the ice.
22-year-old center Anze Kopitar (8 goals, 8 assists in 10 games) is the hottest player in the league not named Ovechkin and if he is ready to join the league’s elite scorers this team is very dangerous. Left-winger Ryan Smyth (14 points) has brought not only his terrific skill but also the leadership this young team so badly needed and has immediately paid dividends.
Their success has been without much from talented left-winger Alexander Frolov who continues to butt heads with head coach Terry Murray. Reports out of L.A. say the two have already had ten closed-door meetings—one for every game—and trade rumors continue to swirl around Frolov. A quick resolution will only help matters.
Most importantly, the Kings have an extremely young and talented defensive corps led by the 2nd overall pick of the 2008 draft Drew Doughty. Fresh off winning the Stanley Cup, Rob Scuderi joins talented blue-liners Matt Greene and Jack Johnson to form a couple of exceptionally strong pairings.
Staying power? If the Kings can solve their goaltending issues—Frolov could be used as trade bait for that solution—this team is a definite playoff contender. VERDICT: I had them in my playoff picks before the season began and there’s no reason to back down now. It’s been a good sports year in L.A.—Lakers are NBA Champions and the Dodgers won 95 games before losing the NLCS—and the Kings will make for a very fun winter in the city of Angels.
