After a lockout-shortened NHL season, we get a full 82-game slate this time around. Fresh with new divisions, there have been some surprise teams (good and bad), some not-so surprising players and even one coach fired. And that’s just the first week. Let’s dive right in and get to the rankings:
1. Penguins:Â Pittsburgh is off to a 3-0 start with goaltending, defense and offense all clicking. How did this team score four goals in getting swept in the Eastern Conference Finals last year?
2. Blues:Â A trendy Cup pick this season, St. Louis has had no problem on offense (11 goals) or defense (two goals allowed).
3. Sharks:Â An eerily similar start to last season, when they went 7-0, San Jose has allowed one goal in each game as Antti Niemi has been brilliant.
4. Bruins:Â Tuukka Rask (two goals on 59 shots) has looked awfully impressive helping the Bruins start with wins against the Lightning and Red Wings.
5. Avalanche: Patrick Roy has come in and led the Avalanche to the first 3-0 start in franchise history. Rookie Nathan MacKinnon – the first overall pick in this year’s draft – has been a big reason for that with an assist in each game.
6. Canucks: It’s Roberto Luongo’s team now, and he gets the chance to prove to the Canucks they made the right choice not trading him in the offseason and instead sending Cory Schneider to the Devils. He’s had two good starts and one bad start.
7. Blackhawks:Â The defending Stanley Cup champs are just 23 straight non-regulation losses away from breaking the record they set last season, when they opened 21-0-3.
8) Maple Leafs: After ending a long playoff drought, Toronto is out to prove that last season was no fluke. So far, so good as they’re off to a 3-1 start.
9. Islanders:Â Despite blowing a 2-0 lead and losing in a shootout to the Blue Jackets this weekend, the Islanders have picked up five points in three games, including a convincing 6-1 win over the Coyotes on Tuesday.
10. Lightning:Â Starting off your season with games against the Stanley Cup champs (Blackhawks) and Eastern Conference champs (Bruins) is no easy task, but the Lightning played well and finished a road trip at 2-1. Now they go home for seven games.
11. Red Wings:Â The Atlantic Division Red Wings (still sounds weird saying that) started with wins over the Sabres and Hurricanes — no problems adjusting to the new conference.
12. Jets: Defensemen Dustin Byfuglien and Tobias Enstrom are tied for the team lead with four points, which usually isn’t a good thing. But the Jets has two wins despite giving up 10 goals.
13. Ducks: When the Ducks traded Bobby Ryan this offseason, they acquired little-known Jakob Silfverberg. He’s been the most impressive Duck with points in three straight games.
14. Senators: Ottawa starts the season off with six straight road games, and having a healthy Craig Anderson, Jason Spezza and Erik Karlsson is a great sign for last season’s surprise team in the East.
15. Canadiens:Â Lars Eller had eight goals and 30 points last season. In two games, he has three goals and five points.
16. Blue Jackets: Reigning Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky had an awful first start, but bounced back with a 28-save performance in a 3-2 shootout win over the Islanders on Saturday.
17. Kings: They are off to a slow start again, allowing 10 goals in three games, but they’re more of a May/June team, anyway.
18. Capitals: Alex Ovechkin’s second-half surge last season has carried over. He was voted the No. 1 star for the week with four goals in three games.
19. Rangers: It’s early, but Henrik Lunqvist has already done something he rarely does: Allow four goals in a game. And it’s happened twice in his three starts, including getting pulled in Tuesday’s ugly 9-2 loss to the Sharks.
20. Stars:Â Looked impressive in a 2-1 win over the Capitals on Saturday. Now if only they could get that power play working…
21. Hurricanes:Â In their two losses, the Hurricanes allowed 37 and 38 shots. This was a problem for them last season and appears to still be an issue in the early going.
22. Coyotes: It’s been downhill since a season-opening 4-1 win against the Rangers. They allowed 10 goals in losses against the Sharks and Islanders.
23. Devils:Â Despite points in three straight games, the Devils are one of three winless teams after blowing leads in all three.
24. Flames: The good news: The Flames have points in three straight games. The bad news: They’ve allowed 12 goals in those games.
25. Wild:Â Three straight one-goal losses to start the season. For team with high expectations, things could get ugly in a hurry in Minnesota.
26. Flyers:Â Coach Peter Laviolette was fired after an 0-3 start, and new coach Craig Berube got his first win when the team beat the Panthers 2-1 on Tuesday.
27. Oilers:Â Head coach Dallas Eakins earned his first win Monday in a wild game, which saw the Oilers trail 3-0 in the third, take a 4-3 lead, and win in a shootout, 5-4 over the Devils.
28. Predators: Last season they scored the fewest goals in the league. They’re averaging two per game so far, but it’ll be another lost season if they can’t find any offense.
29. Panthers: The Tim Thomas experiment hasn’t worked out so well. He allowed five goals in two periods of a 7-0 loss to the Blues and followed that up by suffering a lower-body injury and being removed from Tuesday’s loss to the Flyers.
30. Sabres:Â Winless after four games, could the Sabres’ Ron Rolston be the next coach to get the ax?