Who’s hot, who’s not
Leafs, Habs shining as the NHL season nears the one-month mark
This Saturday will mark one month since this shortened NHL season began on Jan. 13. Here's a look at which teams and players are hot so far and which ones are not.
Hot: Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl
The Edmonton Oilers dynamic duo entered Monday’s game against the Ottawa Senators sitting atop the NHL scoring race. After 13 games, McDavid had 26 points and Draisaitl 23, putting them on pace to reach 100 points if they play all 56 games.
Not: Evgeni Malkin
A two-time NHL scoring champion, the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar has just six points in 11 games. That’s well off last season’s pace when he tallied 74 points in just 55 games.
Hot: Toronto Maple Leafs
Led by high-scoring Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, the Leafs entered Monday’s tilt with the Vancouver Canucks atop the league’s overall standings with 19 points. Matthews began the week
leading all NHL goal scorers (10) while Marner (20 points) was third in the scoring race.
Not: Vancouver Canucks
Last year’s surprising playoff run suggested the Canucks were poised to join the NHL’s elite teams. They’ve instead lost nine of their first 15 contests, most by lopsided scores. Their goaltending is shaky, the defence porous and young stars like Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes are struggling.
Hot: Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens are jockeying with the Leafs for top spot in the standings. Off-season additions Josh Anderson, Tyler Toffoli, Corey Perry, Joel Edmundson and Jake Allen of Fredericton, N.B., have played key roles while youngsters Nick Suzuki, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Alexander Romanov are stepping up.
Not: Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators
These rebuilding clubs were hoping for improvement following a busy off-season adding experienced depth to their respective rosters. So far, there’s little sign of improvement as both clubs continue to wallow at the bottom of the standings.
Hot: Joe Pavelski
The Dallas Stars centre is still going strong at age 36. He leads his club with seven goals and 15 points and sits among the league’s top-10 scorers. Pavelski was among the NHL’s top stars for January.
Not: Jeff Skinner
After signing an eight-year, $72-million contract with the Buffalo Sabres in June 2019, Skinner was under pressure to atone for last season’s disappointing 23-point effort. He has just one point in 10 games thus far. His contract is becoming an increasingly expensive mistake for the Sabres.
Hot: The Florida Teams No Stanley Cup hangover for the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning, winning seven of their first nine games to sit in first place in the Central Division. One point behind them is the Florida Panthers, who’ve dropped just one game in regulation (6-1-2).
Not: The Kings and Sharks.
These once-powerful California franchises are stuck in the basement of the Western Division. The Kings have a good excuse because they’re still rebuilding their roster. The Sharks, on the other hand, could be heading that way if they don’t reverse their fortunes soon.