Isles and Habs lead surprise teams in East
Slumping Oilers, meanwhile, could cost coach his job
Six weeks into the season, are the New York Islanders this year’s version of the Vegas Golden Knights?
With the third-best record in the Metropolitan Division before Monday’s NHL games, they just might be as big a surprise as the Knights were in their expansion season.
Granted, division rivals Pittsburgh and Washington are breathing down New York’s neck, and the Islanders are in the midst of a three-game losing streak after winning five in a row.
That being said, you still have to acknowledge that a team that lost its best player in John Tavares to free agency last summer is performing better than anyone expected. And they’re not the only ones.
From the Pacific Division-leading Vancouver Canucks to the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres, both of whom are holding down unlikely wild card spots in the East, we’re in the midst of another topsy-turvy season.
In my mind, the biggest surprise has been Montreal. And the biggest disappointment would have to be the Edmonton Oilers.
If you had told me the Canadiens, who finished with the third-worst record in the East last year, would be one point back of the Toronto Maple Leafs for a share of second place in the conference at this point, you would have to guess Carey Price was back to his Vezina Trophywinning self.
Oddly enough, Price has only a .892 save percentage and has allowed four or more goals is his last four starts.
So how are the Canadiens winning ? Well, this is where GM Marc Bergevin deserves the credit.
The trades for Max Domi and Tomas Tatar have worked out better than anyone could have imagined. In Domi, the Canadiens finally found a No. 1 centre, as well as a top-10 scorer who has nine goals and 21 points in 17 games. And Tatar having seven goals and 15 points has made fans forget all about former captain Max Pacioretty, who has two goals and no assists since being traded to Vegas in a deal that included Tatar.
While the Canadiens are turning things around, the Oilers are back to where they were a year ago.
The team, which started the year on a 8-4-1 run, has lost four straight by a combined score of 17-6. Edmonton is out of a playoff spot and in danger of being passed by the Arizona Coyotes, who are tied with the same number of points.
Cam Talbot’s save percentage has recently dipped below .900, but a lack of scoring is the real issue. Connor Mcdavid and Leon Draisaitl have 10 goals each, but Ryan-nugent Hopkins has just three, Ty Rattie has two and Milan Lucic and Ryan Strome have one each.
With Kailer Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi sent down to the minors, a trade for some secondary scoring could be in the works. Or perhaps GM Peter Chiarelli will try to light a spark under the team by replacing head coach Todd Mclellan with the now-available Joel Quenneville, recently fired by the Chicago Blackhawks.
WORLD CUP RETURNING?
If a World Cup of Hockey is going to take place in September of 2020, deputy NHL commissioner Bill Daly said it would be in the form of an eight-team tournament, with no Team Europe and Team North America.
First the league and the NHLPA have to agree on extending the collective bargaining agreement past 2019. And if that’s going to happen, it better be quick, because both sides have set an end-of-january deadline for deciding whether to hold another World Cup in two years.
SEATTLE, THEN EUROPE?
In view of the NHL playing regular season games in Finland and Sweden — and with Seattle expected to join Vegas as the league’s next franchise — Daly told attendees at the Prime Time Sports Management Conference that expansion into Europe “at some point in time is probably inevitable.”
“I think, the sooner the better, provided it can be done right,” said Fehr. “I think it would be a real positive statement to create the first really transatlantic league.”