The New Jersey Devils have won 12 in a row, which is only good enough for second overall, thanks to the Boston Bruins. The franchise record is 13 wins, set in 2001, when they lost to the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Finals. But all those draft picks have finally paid off. Five of the Devils' top eight scorers were drafted by them. Additionally, there are a lot of drafted players below them and other prospects that haven't played for them yet.
But it's not always about first-round picks. Jesper Bratt is their leading scorer and a sixth-round pick. Granted, it helps to play with a first-round center like Jack Hughes, but there's still plenty of talent in the lower rounds. The Devils won't do much in the playoffs, but this hot start is something to build on.
Things I like
- Even though parity is better, the NHL has been streak happy to start the season. Besides the Devils 12 game winning streak and the Bruins' 11-0 home record, the Buffalo Sabres have lost eight in a row, the Philadelphia Flyers have lost six in a row, and the St. Louis Blues have won six in a row after losing eight in a row. Talk about symmetry. The Flyers lost in heartbreaking fashion when Cole Caufield scored his second of the game with two seconds left to force overtime. The Canadiens won in the shootout. Caulfield is so much better under coach Martin St. Louis.
- Continuing with the odd, the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche both did something that's hard to do they won games despite being severely outshot. The Avalanche were outshot 48 to 15 but won in overtime. Hard to imagine you can win a game being outshot by 33. The Blues were outshot 51 to 24 but won in the shootout. I'm sure the Capitals had flashbacks of facing Jaroslav Halak in the playoffs. Thomas Greiss stopped 47 for the Blues, and Pavel Francouz stopped 46 for the Avalanche.
Things I don't
- As we near the quarter point of the NHL season, teams are separating themselves, and it's starting to look like the Eastern Conference will be just as uninteresting as last season. The only change will be the barely out New York Rangers replacing the Detroit Red Wings. The Pittsburgh Penguins have a chance to get in, but that's about it. The biggest disappointment are the Ottawa Senators, who probably didn't figure to be in last place after their offseason.
Fight of the Week
Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.
Sam Carrick vs Tyler Tucker
Short and sweet.
Goals of the Week
Connor McDavid - Edmonton Oilers
McDavid is always money in overtime.
Jamie Benn - Dallas Stars
Benn is back and scores a beautiful backhander off a spectacular pass by Mason Marchment.
Goat of the Week
Mikhail Sergachev - Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning won in overtime, but Sergachev stick handles way too much in front of his own net with no one on him and loses the puck, setting up an easy game-tying goal for Radek Faksa to force overtime.
Stat Line of the Week
11/17/22 Winnipeg 3 vs. Anaheim 2
| Skater | TOI | G | A | +/- | SOG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K.Conner | 22:27 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
Kyle Connor had a hat trick against the Ducks scoring his last goal with 53 seconds left. Connor had a career-high 47 goals last season but has only five this season. But the Jets find themselves with a better-than-expected record, while the Ducks are at the bottom of the conference. Connor has eleven points in his last seven games.
Numbers, Numbers
701 – Career NHL points for Tyler Seguin
2 – Goals scored by Mathew Barzal against the Dallas Stars on Saturday Night after having none previously
12 – Game point streak totaling 17 points for Mitchell Marner
11 – Game point streak totaling 20 points for Jason Robertson
25 – Shot difference between the Boston Bruins(43) and Chicago Blackhawks(18) in the Bruins 6-1 win
7 – Points for Charlie McAvoy in his first five games since returning from injury
Rankings
The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.
Top 5
- Boston
- New Jersey
- Tampa Bay
- Colorado
- Vegas
Bottom 5
- Buffalo
- Columbus
- Ottawa
- Anaheim
- San Jose