One month in - The Atlantic Edition

So we're about a month into the season now and what a month it has been.  Scoring is up for sure, roughly 6.5 goals per game.  Individual break outs and team breaks.  We have surprises in all different ways as well.  Some teams doing what was expected and then some, while others are in the dumps that we didn't expect.  So instead of doing this power rankings style, I'm going to just go over the standings broken down by division.  But I will compare based on my preseason power rankings to see how things are shaking out.  So lets go....

The Atlantic:

So above is obviously a look at the standings at this point. A few things look as they should and a few don't at this point.  

Toronto has been one of the best teams in the league and that was as expected.  Auston Matthews has been a beast all year, but now he has a shoulder injury and I think it is safe to say no one in the league wants him out long term...just for when you're team plays them.  But even without him last year they still won .600% of their games, so it isn't like he has to carry the team alone like McDavid does in Edmonton, but that is another story for another time.  The team has played 11 games to date and already have 5 players with 10pts or more and an equal amount with at least 4 goals.  A bit of a better goal differential would be good but its a positive and that is the most important thing.  Basically they're just riding the wave. 

Tampa Bay, the defending division champs, are sitting in 2nd place early on and have been doing it very quietly.  Not only has the team been off to a quiet start, so has Stammer who only has 1 goal, 5 pts and is a minus -3 as of now.  They don't seem to be scoring at a crazy pace like Toronto has been but they're doing it more by committee as virtually everyone has contributed at least a point.   I wouldn't expect them to stay in the Leafs shadow for to long though.  Consider them a sleeping giant who is still a little drowsy as we're early in the season. 

Montreal has been one of the surprise teams early this year as they sit in 3rd place in the division. I'll be the 1st to admit I didn't expect them to come out of the gate like this.  With a 6-2-2 record, I would have expected something more like a 2-6-2 record.  But led by their youth, they're playing hard and fast.  Domi, acquired in the off season for Galchenyuk, is leading the team with 11pts in 10 games.  He is followed by Petry and Drouin.  Petry leads the way on the back end, while Drouin looks to finally be the guy they expected when picking him up from Tampa. Tatar seems to be fitting in nicely as well after coming over in an off season trade as well.  And how can I not mention Kotkaniemi?  He has been playing solid as a center, though only 4 pts, he is a plus-3 and has been incredibly dependable. 

Boston...I don't know how they do it.  Tied with Montreal in points but playing 1 more game, they fall to 4th.  They are led by arguably the best line in hockey right now in Bergeron, Pastrnak, and Marchand.  They have some shown some solid depth on offense as well, but it will have to pick up if they wanna hang on and stay in the race.  Rask has not been himself and Halak has stolen a few games from him lately, even putting up a recent shutout.  If Rask doesn't find his game Halak will steal his starting job, and I don't know if he can get it done long term.

Buffalo.  As predicted in my most improved teams post, Buffalo is finally putting it together, though they're not 100% there yet.  Officially led by new Captain Jack Eichel they're going to be a force to reckon with this season.  Jeff Skinner has proven to be one of the best acquisitions of the off season as he leads all players on the team in points with 12, 1 more than Eichel.  Pominville is looking like he is in his mid-20's again as well.  Hutton though has played all 8 games thus far and is .500 and could have better numbers, but he is keeping them afloat so far.  And of course Dahlin has not really looked out of place, as he has 4pts and is only a minus -1 early on. 

Ottawa came out of the gate pretty hot after a rough off season and even rougher year last year.  But they have been competitive all year so far and hold a .500 record for now, but they've dropped 3 straight...so maybe the hope that they had is gone and reality is now setting in.  Brady has been out with an injury though and that has clearly hurt them the most as he had 6pts in 4 games to start off his career.  Thomas Chabot has just about made everyone forget about that Karlsson guy though with 13pts in 10 games.  Duchene has played very well too and Chris Tierney has found another level.  But don't expect the fun ride to last much longer.

Florida has definitely been the disappointment of the season.  2 wins in 9 games with 3 OTL...ouch.  They're a minus -7 goal differential too...only 1 worse team in the division.  It looks like one of their biggest problems is Special teams.  15% on the PP and 71% on the PK...worst in the division.  Goal tending has clearly been bad as the offense seems to be doing what they need.  They're out shooting opponents on average and they're getting pretty goo production from all the guys you'd expect.  I don't think they'll stay at the bottom for to much longer...but it may be to little to late once again for the playoffs. 

Detroit...ugh.   So whats been good here as they're sitting in the corner of the basement?  Larkin is beginning to look like a number 1 center.  AA has been explosive and looks like a solid number 2, even back checking.  Bert has been putting the puck in the net. Mantha is starting to figure it out. And Cholowski seems like a future number 1 D-man, something I didn't think he would ever be.  So whats the problem?  The PP is in the middle of the pack and the PK is actually 2nd in the Atlantic.   They just haven't been able to find the back of the net playing 5-on-5.  2.3 GF/G and 3.8 GA/G...that doesn't make a winning formula.  They also are being out shot by about 7 shots per game...I remember the good ole days when we were out shooting teams by 10 or more. Well...#lose4Hughes should be in full effect. 

So with that we clearly have 5 teams already pulling away from the pack and should stay pretty tight in the points race through most of the season.  They'll need to if they want a shot at playing through mid-April.  As we know, American Thanksgiving is a major marker in the season and has shown us who will and wont make the playoffs the majority of the time.  With the top 3 teams in every division guaranteed a spot, the 4th and 5th place teams will have to keep it up and be better than the teams in their rival division within the conference.  For the Atlantic, that means the Metro,  who is home to the last 3 Stanley Cup Champions.  The race will only heat up from here.  

Keep an eye out for my next breakdown which will focus on the Metropolitan Division before moving off to the Western Conference. 

Power Rankings!!! 31-20

As the start of the season approaches ever so quickly, I feel I should knock out some of everyone's favorite, POWER RANKINGS!  Power rankings are loved by all are they not?  They make for fun debates of which team is better than the other and makes for fun water cooler talk.  In the end they really mean nothing, but they're a fun way of helping to predict standings, even trades and signings, based on a teams success or failures.  So without bothering you any longer, here comes 31-20.

31: Ottawa Senators - Entering into this season they are without a doubt the team deepest into the gutter or so we think.  They have a few pieces in place like Mark Stone, Matt Duschene, and...exactly.  Its gonna be a rough year, and they just put a $3.25million player on waivers today.  The tank is on in Ottawa, good thing they still have that 1st round pick...Oh...Colorado has that you say?  No wonder the fans are ready to riot and burn the building down.  Expect a very empty building this year and most who show up to be supporting the away team.  This dumpster fire is falling outta the sky faster than the whale from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

30: Montreal Canadiens - A few decent players up front.  An aging and slow D-core.  But an Ace in the hole in Net.  They could cause some trouble upsetting teams late in the season, but I wouldn't expect much.  They just traded their captain and they are not even close to having a number 2 center, let alone a number 1!  Trouble is brewing in Quebec.

29: New York Rangers - Pretty much in the same situation as Montreal.  A few nice wingers, but they have at least a center or two.  Shattenkirk and Skjei(pronounced Shay) on the back end will help a weaker D-core as well.  In the net they have an aging, though he doesn't look it at all, beaut in Henrik Lundqvist.  Looks like he will go down as one of the best goalies to play the game and new win a cup at this point.  A lot of money spent for a team that should end up near the bottom of the league.  I wonder if Brendan Smith will play for them this year...

28: Vancover Canucks - With the departure of the Sedin's after this past season a new era is officially underway in Vancover.  Unfortunately its going to a rough transition for them, but the future seems bright.  This a young team for the most part with a lot of talent, they may be the youngest in the league actually, but I'm not doing that math.  Their oldest forward is 33 year old Loui Eriksson and their oldest d-man is Alex Edler who is 32, most everyone else is in their mid to early 20's. Biggest problems here is the inexperience of the roster.  There are a lot of promising players in the lineup, but they're going to be thrown into the fire this year.

27: New York Islanders - Goodbye to Garth Snow and Doug Weight.  Say hello to Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz (fresh off a Stanley Cup I might add).  So management and coaching looks better instantly...but say goodbye to you captain John Tavares as well.  Good thing is they still have plenty of offensive weapons left in the line up with more to come after these last 2 good drafts.  Problem is the defense is weak.  They have a decent top 3 but not much after that unfortunately.  And now they will have a goalie battle between Greiss and Lehner, those 2 will have their work cut out for them this year.

26: Chicago Blackhawks - Its hard to bet against Kane and Toews, but after them, who else is there really?  Alex DeBrincat is going to be a solid player in the league and he showed it last year, but that just isn't enough. Looking at the D-core, after Keith and Seabrook, who are aging rapidly, there isn't much there.  They have a few prospects in the pipeline but that doesn't help them when this season starts.  They're also may still be without Crawford in net at the start of the year, and without him they plummeted last year. He is the backbone of the team right now and they're go as far a he can carry them...if he can at all this season.

25: Detroit Red Wings - A lot of talk is that the Wings are probably the 3rd worst team heading into the league, so maybe ranking them this high (if this is considered high?) is just my personal bias.  But I know this team a bit better.  The offensive talent and explosive capabilities are there, even without the leadership of Zetterberg.  Problems really lie in the overall youth and the D-core as a whole.  With Mike Green looking like he'll miss the start of the season, Kronwall on one leg, the the pylon that wears number 52...that's not a good start.  Goal tending isn't to bad of an issue yet.  Howard has been solid enough and the addition of Bernier looks to be a good one.  We'll monitor the situation closely though and see if the Larkin, Mantha and Athanasiou can take the next step and begin to truly reach their full potential this season.

Disclaimer - This is the part where it begins to get tough.  As I have mentioned before a bit, this league is so close now in the middle of the standings, that there are just going to be some major battles and good teams are gonna miss out on the playoffs.  Call me crazy here but this is where I see teams finishing the season, even if I think a particular team is better than one ranked above it...which trust me is coming right now.

24: Calgary Flames - This one hurts, no doubt about. Top to bottom, I like what this team brings.  They bring a very good top 9 up front and their top 4 D rivals the some of the best in the league. But I really think that Mike Smith in net is suspect.  He is 36 years old now and has a lot of hard miles on the body.  He will must stay healthy and be a top 10 goalie in the league if the Flames are going to go anywhere. Sadly, I don't think he is up to the task.

23: Carolina Hurricanes - They look to be a team who should be making a strong push for the playoffs this season, but it's likely they'll fall short.  They have great pieces in place and the addition of Andrei Svechnikov will make them very dynamic upfront, but they're not as deep.  On defense is where they shine.  Some could argue that they have 9 or 10 quality starting d-men in their organization, and they could have the best top 6 as a whole in the entire league.  Goal tending is still suspect though.  They will need a major bounce back from Scott Darling and they have brought in Petr Mrazek to see if he can recapture that spark he had early on in Detroit.

22: Minnesota Wild - Maybe I'm a hater here...I probably am, but not everyone can make the playoffs right? So with that, Minnesota is out.  There are a few questions surrounding this otherwise very good team on paper.  Can Parise stay healthy? Will Ryan Suters age begin to slow him down? Can Jason Zucker and Staal do it again? A very very solid top 9 and even a very good top 6 D-core.  Can Dubnyk continue to carry the load as he enters into his mid 30's?  Some good youth will be in the line up as well and a few good prospects for the future.  I don't know...something tells me this could be an off year.

21: Arizona Coyotes - This is a team I have in my Most Improved teams list, so how can I not have them leap frogging some decent teams?  Putting them here still keeps them out of the playoffs, but it would be a significant improvement if they can make this jump and finish above a few teams in the west who are expected to make some noise.  I like their youth, some of their signings and trades the last few years have been good as well.  But most importantly is that they fly under the radar.  So lets see if they can shake a few things up after a strong finish to last season.

20: New Jersey Devils - Solid middle of the pack team with a lot of upside.  Between Hall and Hischier leading the way up front and Andy Greenes leadership on the back end these guys could make some noise late into March as the push for another playoff birth.  I think it would be best if they managed to add piece or two, but they'll compete every night no less, and that's the scary thing.  Kinkaid proved himself a solid goalie last year and lets not forget about Schneider.  Lets see if any of their prospects can make the team this year and help make a difference as they seem to be a team on the rise.