We never saw this coming — and wish we didn’t have to.
The star who can’t score, the team that can’t defend, the special teams that are the furthest thing from special…
It’s our NHL Power Rankings: Unfortunate Early Surprises Edition.
All 31 teams are ranked in order of the power they’ve flexed over the opening two weeks of the season. The write-ups concentrate on a player or aspect of each team that has stumbled out of the gate.
Granted, it’s early, but… yikes.
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You wouldn’t know it because of all the glowing Maple Leafs headlines, but after seven games, back-to-back 32-goal man Nazem Kadri is still looking for his first red lamp.
It’s unfortunate that the perfect 4-0 Devils are making us look silly for thinking Cory Schneider’s injury and GM Ray Shero’s inactivity in the off-season would make for a reality-check season.
To the dismay of many Preds fans, Nashville’s much-hyped 2017 first-rounder Eeli Tolvanen failed to make the big club out of camp, while depth forwards like Zac Rinaldo and Frederick Gaudreau did.
A surprising good-news-bad-news tale in the Bruins’ crease. Established No. 1 Tuukka Rask’s stat line is ugly: 4.08 GAA, .881 save percentage. Backup reclamation project Jaroslav Halak has been stellar: 1.18 GAA, .961 save percentage, with a shutout.
Despite appearing due for a continued breakout, Mikhail Sergachev has seen the least amount of ice time among all Tampa Bay Lightning defencemen.
Tough to see much to pick at in Carolina. We would say it’s unfortunate that $16.6-million goalie Scott Darling is starting the season on the sidelines, but Curtis McElhinney has been solid as his fill in. In truth, the only way this season could be off to a better start is if they were wearing Hartford Whalers throwbacks every game.
The Avalanche signed Matt Calvert to a three-year deal in the off-season, but the winger has yet to register a point in his new duds. He does have nine minutes in penalties, though. Also: goalie Philipp Grubauer, whom the Avs gave up a second-rounder to acquire, is still looking for his first W.
The injuries don’t help, but it’s shocking that a club with a winning record is registering the fewest shots per game (23.8) and getting outshot by an average of 12.2 pucks a night.
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The Artemi Panarin–for–Brandon Saad trade is looking increasingly worse. A “surprised” Saad appears headed for a healthy scratch Thursday. Panarin has piled up seven points through four games.
As the Habs place an emphasis on speed and youth, the Karl Alzner and Tomas Plekanec signings look like bad ideas turned worse (both have been healthy-scratched). Also, Montreal’s lack of centre depth is getting exposed in the dot. The Canadiens’ 43.2 faceoff win percentage is the NHL’s worst.
11. 
Calgary Flames
The common belief is that Mike Smith must be healthy and awesome for Calgary to return to the dance. The veteran netminder has been wildly inconsistent thus far (2-2, .881 save percentage), but there’s plenty of time for Smith to find his groove.
It’s unfortunate that Elias Pettersson’s brutal concussion has detracted from a heck of a road trip for the surprising Canucks, who’ve reminded us how silly it is to read anything into the pre-season.
13. 
Ottawa Senators
The Senators’ new shackle-free attack makes for more entertaining hockey, but Ottawa leads the league in shots against (38.3). This puts a ton of pressure on Craig Anderson and Mike Condon to hold the fort.
Tom Wilson cost himself and his team 20 regular-season games for a reckless action committed in an exhibition game. This was Wilson’s chance to be a first-liner with Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov for a full season.
15. 
Winnipeg Jets
Nikolaj Ehlers has not scored a goal in 23 consecutive games. He’s making $6.25 million this year.
Sergei Bobrovsky is reportedly looking for upwards of $10 million annually on his next deal, but he’s 1-2 with a .860 save percentage out the gate.
17. 
Dallas Stars
For those concerned about the Stars’ depth scoring, 14 Dallas skaters who’ve seen action this season are still looking for their first goal.
The Islanders’ average home attendance of 10,476 not only ranks dead last, the 2,697 gap between them and the second-worst-attended team (Florida) is significant.
19. 
San Jose Sharks
The Sharks’ best offensive defencemen, Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns: 0 goals. The Senators’ best offensive defencemen, Maxime Lajoie and Thomas Chabot: 6 goals.
After a sub-par 2017-18 campaign, in which his save percentage fell to .907, Matt Murray was being looked at for a big bounce back. He fell early to a concussion, and the Pens have a losing record.
The Flyers signed prized winger James van Riemsdyk to a $35-million contract on July 1 and the poor guy suffered a six-week injury before he had a chance to score once for his new/old club.
22. 
Edmonton Oilers
Connor McDavid’s contribution to a record-breaking nine straight Oilers goals to start the season is both incredible and incredibly sad.
The Kings have had 21 opportunities with the man-advantage and zero goals to show for it. Their 70.6 per cent penalty kill ranks sixth-worst. Special teams and a lack of speed are taking a much higher toll on this group than Jonathan Quick’s injury.
24. 
Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres’ depth deficiency is doing them in. Buffalo’s 3-3 record obscures the fact they’ve been outscored 17-12 and are only scoring twice a night. Not a good look when scoring is up league-wide.
The Golden Knights can’t score. The Cup finalists are averaging just two goals per game, and their big-name signings have yet to wow. The injured Paul Stastny may be gone till December, and Max Pacioretty has one point with a minus-3 rating through seven outings.
26. 
Minnesota Wild
Nino Niederreiter, 26, is continuing his regression from star-in-the-making to trade bait. The power forward didn’t score in the playoffs and has mustered one lonely assist through six games this season.
27. 
St. Louis Blues
Granted his primary function is to defend, but captain Alex Pietrangleo is still point-free despite skating a team-high 25:23 per night.
28. 
Florida Panthers
Roberto Luongo got injured before allowing a single goal, and the Cats — who looked so promising in the back half of 2017-18 — are still clawing for their first victory.
29. 
New York Rangers
We’re still getting used to seeing the Blueshirts way down there at the Metropolitan Division basement. But when you make Kevin Shattenkirk your highest-paid skater and deem it necessary to healthy-scratch him one year into the deal, something ain’t right.
30. 
Arizona Coyotes
Despite outshooting their competitors by an average of 11.4 pucks a game, the Coyotes have been outscored 11-3. Yeesh.
Perhaps if Jimmy Howard and Jonathan Bernier were both allowed to play goal at the same time the Red Wings might be able to stop a puck. Not only is the rebuilding franchise winless through six, the Wings rank rock bottom in goals allowed (29).
