It’s early in the season, but there are teams that are already asserting themselves as elite. Did your team crack the top 10? Do you agree with these top 10?
Winnipeg Jets:
The Jets couple their high-octane offense with a rock-solid defense and a brick wall in the net. They are the league’s best-performing team so far and figure to be at or near the top for the rest of the season.
Dallas Stars
The Stars seem to have everything going for them currently. Jake Oettinger has been outstanding in net, their defense is doing a great job of preventing shots and their offense has been devastatingly explosive. Perhaps most impressive is the depth of their arsenal, as their second line has been even better than the first, and the third line features the likes of Jamie Benn and Logan Stankhoven, who could easily play top six on any other team. Star-studded indeed.
Carolina Hurricanes
Under new management, the Hurricanes have taken the league by storm, firing the most shots per game on their opponents. Number 88, in particular, has been a revelation offensively this year, as Necas somehow already has 11 goals (tied with the likes of Kaprizov) and 12 power-play points (tied for second in the league with Makar). Carolina’s defense has been excellent as well, and Kochetkov has performed admirably in the crease. They have what it takes to stay at the top of their division.
Florida Panthers
The defending champs have started the season off right and are ranked first in their division. While their goaltending could stand to improve, the Panthers more than makeup for it with their offensive prowess. Their stacked squad is fortunately fully healthy to start the season and it’s all systems go for Florida as they look for a repeat this season.
New York Rangers
New York combines good offense with great defense and outstanding goaltending. The combination of Shesterkin and Quick in net is the best 1-2 goalkeeping punch in the NHL. The key to New York truly contending this year will be finding ways to continue to spark their offense and support the efforts of superstar Artemi Panarin.
Colorado Avalanche
Colorado’s goalie situation was a nightmare to start the season and while Alexander Georgiev was an absolute sieve in the net for their first handful of games, he’s started to come around lately. With MacKinnon at the top of his game, key offensive pieces like Nichushkin and Lehkonen healthy and back in their top six, and the best offensive defenseman in the game still doing his thing, look for Colorado to ascend in the standings.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Leafs sit second in their division despite Auston Matthews being essentially absent compared to the presence he normally provides on their offense (and literally absent recently due to injury). Toronto’s defensemen have been solid but Stolarz has been the real key to their success defensively. With a green but talented keeper in Woll to back him up, Toronto has a great situation in the crease and the personnel all around to make some serious noise.
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are in the discussion for the hottest team in the league right now. Ovechkin has turned back the clock, and their top six has been superb, with young upriser Connor McMichael coming seemingly out of nowhere to spark the second line. The Capitals actually have the most goals on a per-game basis, and they aren’t showing any signs of slowing down… though they do have a league-high shooting percentage by a wide margin.
Minnesota Wild
Minnesota fans have to be ecstatic about their start to the season, and what a wild start it’s been. Kirill Kaprizov has been the best player in the NHL, and the rest of the team has risen around him. A big part of their success thus far has been Gustavsson in the net, as the team has allowed the second-fewest goals per game in no small part due to his play. Now, they just have to keep it up.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Superstar Nikita Kucherov leads the way as usual and with Victor Hedman at the top of his game and Andrei Vasilevskiy back to good health and looking like his old self, the Lightning will be a force to be reckoned with this year.
