Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2017 16:33:23 GMT
DHL REVIEW 2017/18
First Impressions
The season is three weeks in. Not enough time to make any rash judgments, but that’s not stopping anyone from doing just that. As the teams set out on the first inter-division stretch of the schedule, here’s our 16 thoughts …
1. Wild winning, but closer than it appears
Minnesota is off to its expected 3-0 start, with a record that leaves the defending Presidents Trophy winner leading the league. But an examination of the numbers does not reveal a powerhouse, so much as a good team that has gotten a bit lucky. The Wild’s 13-1 win in week one over the Flames certainly helps things, but two close wins over Las Vegas and the Rangers in weeks two and three could have gone either way. In the end, good teams find ways to win. And now Minnesota gets to coast through the weakest division, so there is no cause for concern.
2. New owner, same old all-star team in LA
New GM Daniel can only help a franchise that has basically been on auto-pilot since swindling enough managers early in the DHL’s formation to make an all-star team. The Kings have not really been tested yet, but they’ve done what good teams do when facing playoff-bubble teams: win. Other than Hits, LA is dominating the forward categories. And even though Henrik Lundqvist has fallen off a cliff, Quick’s resurgence is keeping LA alive in the goalie cats.
3. Perfect season over already in Montreal
An 11-2 drubbing of the Rangers in week one certainly set the Canadiens off on the right foot. But a 7-7 tie to Philadelphia brought Montreal back down to earth. The Habs got back into a winning way by beating the Devils, but now have a tough week 4 matchup against Atlantic rivals Toronto before the resurgent Sabres visit.
4. Islanders stumble despite easy schedule
New York had one of the easiest first three weeks, and over the first two they played like a division winner. But a week three loss to St. Louis, where the numbers were not great across the board has raised alarm bells on Long Island. The Metro looks tough this year, and the Islanders will have a much better sense of whether they are still the class of the division over the next three weeks.
5. Leafs make early case as playoff contender
Toronto rode its outstanding goaltending to a pretty solid start to the season, with wins over a tough Golden Knights team in week one and perennial contenders Dallas in week three. The start was only marred by a close one-hit loss to the Rangers. The only concern in Toronto is whether its goaltending can stay this good. If not, is there enough firepower up front to contend?
6. Colorado hovering around .500
A 1-2 record usually isn’t enough to be sixth in the league, but for the Avalanche, a big win over the Sabres in week one has covered up two very close losses to the Blues and Senators. The young guns on this team are holding their own, but it’s the surprising play of Mike Smith that has buoyed the Avalanche into the playoff bubble. Normally a .500 record is not cause for celebration, but in Colorado a playoff berth would be a minor miracle after years of bottom feeding.
7. Philly looking tough during rough schedule
Despite one of the most difficult starting three weeks of the league, the Flyers are sitting comfortable around .500 thanks to a big win over the Jets in week one, and a tie to the Canadiens in week 2. That tie may come back as one of the highlights of the season if the Flyers remain on the bubble, as their division rivals in New York got smoked by the same Canadiens already this season. The week 4 matchup against the Rangers will be interesting, as the two teams look to be close and will face each other 3 times this season.
8. Sabres ride easy schedule to early playoff spot
As a bubble team with an easy start to the season, Buffalo did not exactly take advantage of its trip through the Western Conference. After getting beat bad by Colorado in week one, the Sabres rebounded with a big win over the Flames before tying the Golden Knights. The forwards have been really good, but Buffalo is one of the worst goalie teams in the league. That is not a recipe for playoff success, but GM Lou has the resources to acquire more goaltending if he sees fit.
9. No one’s singing the Blues in St. Louis
Perhaps the most impressive start in the DHL, St. Louis is 2-1 despite having faced LA and NYI in the first 3 weeks. The only thing keeping the Blues out of the playoff picture at this point was the 11-2 beating they took by the Kings in week one. Otherwise, wins over Colorado and the Islanders is a great way to set up as St. Louis goes head to head against its new Central division rivals.
10. Experts eating hats after Sens strong start
The consensus pick to finish no higher than 15th, Ottawa has looked pretty solid through three weeks. The Sens held their own against the Isles in week one, although they ended up losing 10-5. They lost 7-6 to the Jets in week 2, despite Winnipeg’s terrible goaltending. But Ottawa turned it around with a 7-6 victory over Colorado to get on the board. With a tough Atlantic schedule upcoming, Ottawa may start falling fast. But so far, the experts are all wrong.
11. Stars are not aligned in Dallas
Not the start Dallas was looking for. After a 10-4 beat down of the new-look Devils in week one, the perennial challengers were looking to a big matchup with the Islanders as a measuring stick. The stick was pretty short. New York crushed the Stars 12-1, and then Dallas followed it up with a 9-5 loss at the hands of the Leafs. Now with the Wild in town, Dallas is quickly digging itself a hole early on. The matchup against the Blues in Week 5 will be the next big measuring stick.
12. Golden Knights showing a bit of rust
Still winless after three weeks, the Golden Knights are hanging around by way of only losing 10-5 to Toronto and 9-4 to Minnesota. They did get a tie against Buffalo, thanks to the Sabres poor goaltending, but as Vegas heads to its division matchup with LA in week 4 the team is looking like an early longshot to meet its pre-season prediction of being a playoff team.
13. Jets dragging a goaltending anchor
They have a win over Ottawa on their belt, but losses to Philadelphia and Calgary have marred Winnipeg’s start. Of primary concern is the play of the bevy of backup goaltenders the Jets are rolling out. Until that gets sorted, any hope of the playoffs is out of the question.
14. Rangers not getting results
A tough schedule to start the season, with three of the top 5 teams, has left the Rangers in a bit of a hole to climb. An 11-2 loss to Montreal in week one really set New York on its heels. But a narrow win over the playoff-ranked Leafs in week 2 provided reason for optimism, as did a pretty close matchup with the evil empire from Minnesota in week three. The big tests come over the next three weeks, where the season can be lost without solid performances.
15. Defending champs trying to overcome start
A 13-1 loss in week one is no way to start a title-defence. Neither is losing to a bubble team in Buffalo in week two. But at least Calgary beat the Jets by a healthy margin in week 3. A matchup in Colorado will be a good indication if Calgary can climb back into the race. Without solid showings against the Avalanche and Golden Knights over the next stretch, this season may be over before Flames know what hit them.
16. Bedeviled in New Jersey
The only team with three straight losses, at least New Jersey can point to one of the toughest schedules to start the season. The Devils put up good numbers in losing 8-5 against LA, and did not do too bad against Montreal, so there is reason for slight optimism. Weeks five and six against the Rangers and Flyers will tell us a lot about whether this team can contend for the playoffs, or whether this is another race to the first-overall pick kind of season.