Around the NHL – Week 3
During the first week of the season we see teams jump out to surprising starts, both strong and weak. The second week is meant for those teams to either continue to separate themselves or bounce back from a rough start. The third week of the NHL season, however, is when I believe teams begin to truly define themselves and their seasons, which is what happened with a few teams this past week.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about the standings after three weeks of play is the teams that sit atop their respective conferences. Let’s start in the West, where the Edmonton Oilers lead the conference (along with the Dallas Stars) with 16 points, riding a five-game winning streak. Yes, I said the Edmonton Oilers – the team with the first overall pick in the draft this past offseason, the team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2006, the team who Western Conference fans can always count on to fill out the bottom of the standings each year, those Edmonton Oilers. First pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who Edmonton decided to keep on the NHL roster this season, is currently leading the team with five goals and 11 points, and he has certainly contributed on that young line with teammates Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall. If veteran goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin can continue his torrid pace and they can acquire a veteran D-man, this Oiler team may return to its glory days of Stanley Cup championships quicker than many fans thought. They have the potential to become scary good, if their young core can stay consistent and competitive throughout the entire NHL season, and, barring any major setbacks, an NHL postseason. This team will not compete for Lord Stanley’s Cup this season, I’m not saying that, but the continued growth of their young guns, paired with their veteran leadership makes them a very dangerous team to play on any given night (the Blues learned that last night). In addition to the Oilers, the Dallas Stars are another surprise out West, as they sit tied with Edmonton for the conference lead. The Stars have recently been one of those teams that has given teams like the Blues fits for the past few seasons, but I don’t think anyone could have predicted that after three weeks of play that they would be leading the conference. After veteran center and highly sought-after free agent center Brad Richards departed for the Rangers, the future didn’t look so bright for the Stars. However, adding free agents Michael Ryder and Sheldon Souray has helped push compensate for Richards’ loss, and goalie Kari Lehtonen is off to the best start of his young career. It will be interesting to see if both the Oilers and Stars can sustain their current paces. It would behoove them to continue to separate themselves from the pack and not fall into the dreaded November slump after such a hot start – let’s see where these two teams sit in the standings in a month.
Switching over to the Eastern Conference, there’s a similar story currently being written by two unlikely leaders. The Toronto Maple Leafs are sitting atop the Northeast division, and are second in the East with 15 points. No, you didn’t read that wrong, I did say the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team that hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2004. Led by veteran gunner Phil Kessel, who has 18 points in only three weeks, the Leafs have the third best goals per game average in the league and haven’t seemed to slow down yet. There are two more shockers out East, both unlikely surprises in week three. The Ottawa Senators, who finished 13th in the conference last season, trail the Leafs by only one point and currently sit in fifth place, riding a six game winning streak. What is even more surprising than these two upstart teams is the play of the defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins. If the season ended today, Boston would be sitting on the couch during the playoffs, as they have only amassed six points in three weeks, the second worst point total in the NHL and good for dead last in the Eastern Conference. It’s unlikely Boston will continue their horrendous play throughout the entirety of this season, but six points after three weeks is cause for concern, and the Bruins better figure it out fast if they plan on defending their Stanley Cup Championship.
Player of the Week
I’ve already written about the remarkable play of the Kings’ Anze Kopitar and Phil Kessel of the Leafs, but my player of the week for week three is someone already mentioned earlier in this post: Oilers’ goalie Nikolai Khabibulin. The “Bulin Wall” leads all NHL goalies in the two most important categories, with a .960 save % and a 1.12 GAA. I’m not sure if the Oilers coaches believed that Khabibulin would be the best netminder in the league after three weeks of play, but I can guarantee you they’re not complaining. The 38 year-old journeyman has found his home between the pipes in Edmonton, and the Oilers are going to need him to continue to be a force in net if they have any hopes of a serious playoff run this season. When you think of premier NHL goalies, names like Luongo, Thomas, Price and Rinne come to mind, with Khabibulin not being in that mix in a long time. It’s nice to see such a hardworking, committed goaltender find success again, and it’s going to be exciting to see if he can help lead his young Oilers over the course of the 2011-12 season.
