The Vegas Golden Knights picked up where they left off, playing stellar hockey. They’re the only 6-0 team in the NHL and now have the longest winning streak to begin a season by a reigning Stanley Cup champion. The only other unbeaten teams are the Colorado Avalanche and Boston Bruins. Of course, this assuredly means none of them will win the Stanley Cup.
But win can still enjoy their high level of play while it lasts. The Avalanche vs Golden Knights games are always great, and I can’t wait for the next installment. We already had a rematch of the Western Conference Finals. The Dallas Stars had a 2-1 lead in the third period and predictably couldn’t hold it. The Golden Knights tied it and then won in overtime. The Stars collapsing in the third period is nothing new. If they hope to win the Stanley Cup, they’ll need to improve. Thankfully, it’s still early. But they didn’t do much better in the next game. More on that later.
Things I like
- Alex DeBrincat is fitting in well with the Detroit Red Wings with twelve points in his first six games, including his fifth career hat trick. Surprisingly, he had none when the Red Wings beat the Senators 5-2. There’s a good chance DeBrincat will take it to the next level. He sure seems to enjoy playing for his hometown team. The Red Wings were one of those on the bubble teams they might be able to take the next step this season. But considering how deep the Eastern Conference was, it seemed another year away. It’s still early, but the long rebuild seems to be finally paying off, long being an understatement.
Things I don’t
- Apparently, the NHL gathered all the coaches and told them to calm down instead of getting irate, letting expletives fly, and occasionally throwing things. To that, I say boo! What makes hockey such a great sport is players are free to showcase their emotions. In any other sport, you would be thrown out. But coaches are also free to do what they wish. The more memorable moments are when the coach loses it. Who can forget John Tortorella trying to fight the entire Calgary Flames team?
-
After starting 2-0, the Blackhawks have lost four in a row. It’s still October, but this is actually a good thing, as the Blackhawks need to accumulate high draft picks to surround Connor Bedard with talent the same age. This isn’t what the Blackhawks envisioned when they signed the likes of Taylor Hall and Corey Perry, but it’s for the best long term. While their veteran leadership might rub off on Bedard, I can’t help but think their talents would be better suited helping actual contenders. I don’t recall the Edmonton Oilers or Pittsburgh Penguins signing top-tier veterans to help out Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby. That’s because they didn’t need them, and neither does Bedard.
-
Alex Ovechkin has no goals through four games. It’s early, but he has only nine shots. For someone who averages over four shots a game, it’s surprising. In two games, he had no shots. The Washington Capitals aren’t good anymore and won’t be making the playoffs, but for someone who is trying to break Wayne Gretzky’s goals record, it’s something to keep an eye on.
Fights of the Week
Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.
Klim Kostin vs Erik Gudbranson
A great back-and-forth.
Logan O’Connor vs Jordan Eberle
Fast and furious. Short and sweet.
Jamie Benn vs Nicolas Hague
Benn trying to make amends for last year’s playoff. Not the best fight, but it was long.
Trent Frederic vs Andreas Englund
If only it was longer.
Goats of the Week
Brandon Hagel - Tampa Bay Lightning
I don’t know what Hagel is doing. It may have been tipped, but that’s not the pass you make in that situation. It led to the game-winner.
Dallas Stars power play
With a 4-3 lead in the third period, the Dallas Stars go on the power play to hopefully ice the game. Instead, the Flyers tied it after two shorthanded goals in less than 50 seconds. They actually gave up a shorthanded goal in the first, too. Three shorthanded goals are simply brutal. The Stars won in overtime, but why make it harder on yourselves?
The first was the worst.
https://www.nhl.com/video/phi-dal-konecny-scores-goal-against-stars-6339633508112
Stat Line of the Week
10/20/23 New Jersey 5 vs. NY Islanders 4
| Skater | TOI | G | A | +/- | SOG | PPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J. Hughes | 24:21 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 6 | 2 |
Jack Hughes had a four-point night and the game-winner, and despite figuring into almost every Devils’ goal, he had a -2. But when three of your points come on the power play, that can happen. Hughes is looking to eclipse 100 points for the first time in his young career. He’s scored in every game so far.
Numbers, Numbers
250 – Career points for Cale Makar, the fastest defenseman in NHL history to reach the mark
-13 – Goal differential of the winless San Jose Sharks. It’ll be a long season.
1297 – Games played by Anze Kopitar, the most in Los Angeles Kings history
128 – Power play goals by Leon Draisaitl, the most in Edmonton Oilers history
.964 – SV% for Jonathan Quick in four periods for the New York Rangers
Rankings
The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.
Top 5
- Vegas
- Colorado
- Boston
- Dallas
- Detroit
Bottom 5
- San Jose
- Anaheim
- Washington
- Seattle
- Edmonton
NFL Thoughts
-
The officiating this weekend was atrocious; so many missed calls, calls that shouldn’t have been, and bad spots. There are way too many to mention.
-
The Deshaun Watson trade and contract is looking to be the worst of all time, which is saying something. It was pretty much always destined to be this way. Anytime you give up a lot of one player, it never works out. I wrote about that here. But for some reason, teams still do it. This trade was foolish, given the size and nature of the contract. But why would you want someone who hadn’t played football in almost two years and went through the way the Texans organization crumbled and the myriad of lawsuits and off-field issues Watson had is beyond me. That doesn’t even consider the ethical issues of signing someone after what he did.