Jackets now lead way for McDavid
While projected top draft pick Connor McDavid remains off the ice with a broken right hand, the NHL’s race to last place is going strong a quarter of the way through the season. And it’s not quite playing out as everyone expected.
The Buffalo Sabres went offscript as one of the hottest teams in the league, while a stunningly poor start has put the Columbus Blue Jackets in the driver’s seat to get the best odds of landing the projected first-overall draft pick.
Columbus has been beset by injuries to goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, centre Brandon Dubinsky, forward Mark Letestu and defencemen Fedor Tyutin and Ryan Murray (among others) and has fallen to 6-15-2 with an NHL-worst 14 points. Last in the league in goalsagainst per game, the Blue Jackets are far away from that. Behind Jack Johnson and James Wisniewski, their blue-line has become a mishmash of defencemen.
Mediocre defence is a common theme among the bottom five teams in the NHL standings. Along with the Blue Jackets, the Edmonton Oilers, Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers have all struggled in that department.
Edmonton has lost nine straight games (two of them in overtime) and look like a lock to pick in the top 10 for the seventh straight year.
After starting the season 3-12-2, the Sabres have won five of their past six games including each side of a back-to-back against the Montreal Canadiens. Fans in Buffalo would welcome McDavid or Boston University centre Jack Eichel with rebuilding in full swing, but a little winning could go a long way for the Sabres’ core.
In Carolina, Jordan Staal replacement Riley Nash has been a pleasant surprise, but Alex Semin has been so much of a disappointment that the winger in the second season of a $35-million-US, fiveyear contract has been a healthy scratch.
The Flyers don’t have such a luxury and have dug themselves a deep hole by losing eight of their past nine, seven of them in regulation.
The NHL made changes to its lottery format that go into effect this season.
The team with the fewest points will have a 20 per cent chance of picking first, down from 25. The team with the second-fewest points has a 13.5 per cent chance instead of 18.8 and the one with the third-fewest 11.5 per cent instead of 14.2.