Early Season NHL suprises

[mjd1001]

Now that we are almost a month into the Season, I was thinking of some things that are really surprising me around the NHL:

 

-Boston.  I thought they were going to fall off the cliff. I truly thought they would be a below .500 team the entire year. It is early, but they are playing pretty well since the first week.

 

-Crosby.  I still figured on him being a point-a-game guy or slightly more with Kessel, but him only getting 1 goal through 10 games is a little surprising. Interesting fact:  in the last calendar year (Oct 30 2014, to Oct 30, 2015), Crosby has played in 78 games and has 22 total goals.

 

-Toronto.  I thought they would be pretty bad, but not 1 win in the first month bad.

 

-Calgary. A drop off from last year?  I didn't even think that with the young guys they have and them getting better.  They can still turn it around, but they look like a different team.

 

-Jamie Benn.  Hard to say  the guy who led the league in points last year is a surprise...but I thought last year was his career year.  Hes starting out even better than last year.

 

-Fighting. Last year was the lowest number of fights in the NHL (per game) since the late 1960s (last year had less than half what we saw even in the early 2000s) and this year so far it is even much lower than last year. Go back into the 1990's and the Sabres had close to (or above) 100 fights a year.  In 2003-2004 they had 68.  Through most of the last 5 years, they had 30-40 per year. This year, they are on a pace for about 15.

As long as the hockey is good though, I don't really miss the fights.

 

Anything else that I missed, or that really stands out to anyone as a surprise though the first month?

Edited October 31, 2015 by mjd1001

[dudacek]

I wonder if Benn will start getting the respect he deserves.

I think most people chalked last year's scoring title up to "good player, career year, down year for the real stars"

[LGR4GM]

Calgary doesn't surprise me that much.  They have questionable GT and their possession metrics last year indicated they should be bad. They do however have the talent to turn it around.

[3putt]

I wonder if Benn will start getting the respect he deserves.

I think most people chalked last year's scoring title up to "good player, career year, down year for the real stars"

In the few games I watched this year, not only is his scoring touch and vision up to par, his all around game is elevating. He is a force, not a fluke.

[TrueBlueGED]

I wonder if Benn will start getting the respect he deserves.

I think most people chalked last year's scoring title up to "good player, career year, down year for the real stars"

I've loved Benn's game for awhile, but count me among those who thought his 86 points last year was a fluke. Thought he was more of a 70-75 guy, even with a healthy Seguin. It appears I'm on track to be quite incorrect :lol:

Calgary doesn't surprise me that much. They have questionable GT and their possession metrics last year indicated they should be bad. They do however have the talent to turn it around.

Not only that, but I believe they had some ridiculous record in 1 goal games and shootouts. Everything pointed to a decline, but given their offseason, I'm a little surprised just how far they've fallen (missing playoffs is one thing, being among the league's worst is another). Methinks Hartley doesn't make the season if this continues. Edited October 31, 2015 by TrueBlueGED

[jad1]

The Ducks slow start is a surprise.

[Randall Flagg]

The Ducks slow start is a surprise.

Definitely. Go look at their forwards' stats. I believe Kesler, Getzlaf, and Perry have fewer goals combined than Girgensons. Who has 1.

[mjd1001]

The Ducks slow start is a surprise.

I forgot that on my list.  I think that is probably more of a surprise to me than Calgary is.

[Doohicksie]

-Jamie Benn.  Hard to say  the guy who led the league in points last year is a surprise...but I thought last year was his career year.  Hes starting out even better than last year.

The Stars in general. They're playing a lot better so far than I would have guessed.

[Hoss]

When you talk about true draft steals Jamie Benn is number one. Fifth rounder coming out of the BCHL just before his 18th birthday... He produced at a high rate at every level so it wasn't like teams didn't know who he was.

 

2007 was just before I got really into the draft so I don't remember him predraft - was there any reason he slipped?

[inkman]

Now that we are almost a month into the Season, I was thinking of some things that are really surprising me around the NHL:

 

-Boston.  I thought they were going to fall off the cliff. I truly thought they would be a below .500 team the entire year. It is early, but they are playing pretty well since the first week.

 

-Crosby.  I still figured on him being a point-a-game guy or slightly more with Kessel, but him only getting 1 goal through 10 games is a little surprising. Interesting fact:  in the last calendar year (Oct 30 2014, to Oct 30, 2015), Crosby has played in 78 games and has 22 total goals.

 

-Toronto.  I thought they would be pretty bad, but not 1 win in the first month bad.

 

-Calgary. A drop off from last year?  I didn't even think that with the young guys they have and them getting better.  They can still turn it around, but they look like a different team.

 

Everyone was writing the Bruins off but they still have Krejci, Bergeron, Marchand, Chara, Eriksson, Krug and Rask. What they lost in lucic and Hamilton, they made up with depth signings. 

 

TO was bad last year.  They out played their fancistats like Calgary.  They got worse and are playing to their fancistat level.

[calti]

can I answer in the negative? yes? ok then..

McDavid is not a surprise. The 18 yr old is scoring every game. Already one of the top players in the league.

[deluca67]

Calgary doesn't surprise me that much.  They have questionable GT and their possession metrics last year indicated they should be bad. They do however have the talent to turn it around.

The drop off from their goaltending is a big factor. They are allowing basically the same amount of shots as last season, their save percentages are way down. Goals wise they are down almost an entire goal per game despite maintaining pretty much the same amount of shots.They are also allowing almost 1 1/2 more goals per game so far. 

 

Now that we are almost a month into the Season, I was thinking of some things that are really surprising me around the NHL:

 

-Boston.  I thought they were going to fall off the cliff. I truly thought they would be a below .500 team the entire year. It is early, but they are playing pretty well since the first week.

 

-Crosby.  I still figured on him being a point-a-game guy or slightly more with Kessel, but him only getting 1 goal through 10 games is a little surprising. Interesting fact:  in the last calendar year (Oct 30 2014, to Oct 30, 2015), Crosby has played in 78 games and has 22 total goals.

 

-Toronto.  I thought they would be pretty bad, but not 1 win in the first month bad.

 

-Calgary. A drop off from last year?  I didn't even think that with the young guys they have and them getting better.  They can still turn it around, but they look like a different team.

 

-Jamie Benn.  Hard to say  the guy who led the league in points last year is a surprise...but I thought last year was his career year.  Hes starting out even better than last year.

 

-Fighting. Last year was the lowest number of fights in the NHL (per game) since the late 1960s (last year had less than half what we saw even in the early 2000s) and this year so far it is even much lower than last year. Go back into the 1990's and the Sabres had close to (or above) 100 fights a year.  In 2003-2004 they had 68.  Through most of the last 5 years, they had 30-40 per year. This year, they are on a pace for about 15.

As long as the hockey is good though, I don't really miss the fights.

 

Anything else that I missed, or that really stands out to anyone as a surprise though the first month?

Boston leading the league with 4 goals per game while being undefeated on the road is an early season surprise.

 

The Kings being 6-3 (losing 3 than winning 6 straight) through 9 games while only scoring 20 goals and allowing 18 has to be the strangest start to the season.  

[dudacek]

Does O'Reilly count as a surprise?

A lot of people called him an overpaid second-liner who wouldn't produce surrouned by mediocre talents in Buffalo.

[Drunkard]

Does O'Reilly count as a surprise?

A lot of people called him an overpaid second-liner who wouldn't produce surrouned by mediocre talents in Buffalo.

 

He's surprised me for sure. I'm one of his biggest detractors because while he's the right type of player to shelter Eichel and Reinhart for now, I feel he'll be redundant and overpaid by the time Eichel and Reinhart are ready for primetime roles. I doubt he keeps up this type of scoring pace, but I'm happy to eat crow for the moment and I still hope we can trade him off for a good return to Toronto or someone else in dire need for a good center once we start having a give out big raises to the young guys and we find ourselves up against the cap.

[qwksndmonster]

He's surprised me for sure. I'm one of his biggest detractors because while he's the right type of player to shelter Eichel and Reinhart for now, I feel he'll be redundant and overpaid by the time Eichel and Reinhart are ready for primetime roles. I doubt he keeps up this type of scoring pace, but I'm happy to eat crow for the moment and I still hope we can trade him off for a good return to Toronto or someone else in dire need for a good center once we start having a give out big raises to the young guys and we find ourselves up against the cap.

Is it really redundant to have too many centers who are good 2 way players?  Our team turns into matchup hell for our opponents once the youngins aren't youngins.  Eichel, Reinhart, and O'Reilly are the 3 man core of our forwards in the future.

Edited November 2, 2015 by qwksndmonster

[woods-racer]

The Stars in general. They're playing a lot better so far than I would have guessed.

 

When we had free center ice package on Directv for a few weeks I caught a few Stars games. They are a fun team to watch. If you have a two goal lead on the Stars you better not sit back and try to play a defensive game, they just have to much going offensively.

[qwksndmonster]

When we had free center ice package on Directv for a few weeks I caught a few Stars games. They are a fun team to watch. If you have a two goal lead on the Stars you better not sit back and try to play a defensive game, they just have to much going offensively.

I love Lindy.  It makes me so happy to see him behind the bench.  The Stars and the Oilers are the West teams I'm tryna keep an eye on this year.

[Derrico]

He's surprised me for sure. I'm one of his biggest detractors because while he's the right type of player to shelter Eichel and Reinhart for now, I feel he'll be redundant and overpaid by the time Eichel and Reinhart are ready for primetime roles. I doubt he keeps up this type of scoring pace, but I'm happy to eat crow for the moment and I still hope we can trade him off for a good return to Toronto or someone else in dire need for a good center once we start having a give out big raises to the young guys and we find ourselves up against the cap.

This irks me something fierce.

[Drunkard]

This irks me something fierce.

 

It doesn't make it untrue though. I think Reinhart will turn into a better version of O'Reilly within a couple seasons and we'd be better off spending the money on other positions. If it's not true then where do they slot in a couple years? Which one gets bumped to wing or the 3rd line?

[inkman]

It doesn't make it untrue though. I think Reinhart will turn into a better version of O'Reilly within a couple seasons and we'd be better off spending the money on other positions. If it's not true then where do they slot in a couple years? Which one gets bumped to wing or the 3rd line?

I don't understand this at all.  Give me all the good players.  They will be able to figure out the salary crap if and when they need to.  The simple thought of questioning how will pay all of our superstar players is a perfect problem to have.  He's the Sabres best player right now and will be in the top 3 indefinitely.  I'm happy about it. 

[woods-racer]

I love Lindy.  It makes me so happy to see him behind the bench.  The Stars and the Oilers are the West teams I'm tryna keep an eye on this year.

 

 

Same here.

[Derrico]

It doesn't make it untrue though. I think Reinhart will turn into a better version of O'Reilly within a couple seasons and we'd be better off spending the money on other positions. If it's not true then where do they slot in a couple years? Which one gets bumped to wing or the 3rd line?

I'm hoping Reinhart turns into a better version of O'Reilly as well but it is far from a guarantee.  O'Reilly has already proven he can play wing if need be and potentially be a top line winger that maybe takes some Dzone draws late in the game.  You cannot have enough players like ROR on your team.  Depth down the middle is what wins come playoff time and we have that for the first time since 2008.  We will figure it out when/if the time comes.  There will always be a place on my team for ROR and it's pretty darn tough to have enough of those types of guys that it will make him redundant.

[Drunkard]

I don't understand this at all.  Give me all the good players.  They will be able to figure out the salary crap if and when they need to.  The simple thought of questioning how will pay all of our superstar players is a perfect problem to have.  He's the Sabres best player right now and will be in the top 3 indefinitely.  I'm happy about it. 

 

I agree that it's a good problem to have but all else being equal I'd rather the team be balanced and good all around rather than stacked in one area and deficient in another.